A friend of mine died recently. He lived across the street from me when we were teenagers. I had not seen him in the past 50 years, so maybe "friend" is an exaggeration but still, his death upsets me. At 72, it focuses my thoughts on my future and those of my loved ones. At best, I may have a decade left to make my mark, but this PD thing kind of interferes with any bucket list I may have, or will have, concerning those 10 years.
I don't fear death so much as I fear its prologues: loneliness, decrepitude, pain, debilitation, depression, senility.Those are the words of Mary Roach who went on to metaphorically describe death - "like a holiday at the Beach". I don't know about that. I do, however, believe we continue to "be" after death, in one form or another, but on a higher plane. I am not particularly religious, but I accept the first law of thermodynamics - energy can neither be created nor destroyed. If that is true, the energy of me will simply change form upon my death and although I won't be able to run a 4-minute mile, I will eagerly become a part of the energy of the universe. Besides, I have never been able to run that fast.
What has all this got to do with PD?
Absolutely nothing, unless you create your own philosophy involving death and PD. I can't decide that for you, but the basis for my philosophy is positive thinking and I continue in my role an eternal optimist. As for you, when you are formulating your own philosophy, keep this in mind:
Science without religion is lame
Religion without science is blind.
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