About Death!
I am constantly reminded of death and the concept of mortality. I used to have a “fear” that has been coming back lately, a lot.
Wake up, work, consume, and one day die.
I still do not know if it bothers me that I might not reach the self-actualisation step in Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs (if such a thing is really a thing), or if it is the “consuming” thing that bothers me. The fact that I am just a consumption engine, that has to give birth to a child, so that the consumption will continue, to sustain an “infinite growth” machine in a finite world.
Writing this, though, I realise that I probably have an inner guilt that one day I decided to have a child, without the ability to ask for permission. And now, he has to live and grow up in this world, of difficulty, of pain, of a planet literally on fire.
But I am getting ahead of myself… death!
When to Die?
I recently listened to a Podcast dedicated to Dimitris Liantinis, his life and his death (however, not his work so much). I remember this case as a child, but I never actually had the maturity to visit his work, because his work is directly correlated and can actually interpret his “death”.
He did not actually commit suicide, but he actually “paused” living, and this is a highly radical action. For two reasons, first, that it was something he “chose” to do, completely sane and with no terminal illness, in his “prime”. Secondly, it was the way he did it, he just went to Mount Taygetus, inside a cave, recorded a poem with a cassette recorder and that’s it, he just stayed there. No drama, no action, nothing. From nothingness to nothingness!
So what is it? Should we try to “Carpe Diem” and “Live, Laugh, Love” until the end of our time? Or should a person be able to choose when and how?
He led a highly intellectual, but very simple, material life. Maybe this was his way to celebrate such life?
Moment Corpses
Now I remember some words from Chronis Misios.
“We made our body a vast cemetery of murdered desires and expectations, we leave behind the most important, the most essential things, such as playing and talking with children and animals, with flowers and trees. To play with and enjoy each other, to make love. To enjoy nature, the beauties of the human hand and spirit, to descend tenderly within us, to know ourselves and those near to us.”
Chronis here has internalised his own mortality and warns the reader not to waste any time on miserable thoughts and meaningless activities. To remember what it is like to actually live, simply, modestly. He mentioned not wasting time, but we can see that “time”, nowadays, has been replaced with attention and consumption. We replaced speaking with friends with doom-scrolling and happiness with consumption.
A Simple Life, maybe?
Both of them, Chronis and Dimitris, are aligned on one thing. Be honest with yourself and those near you. To be modest and enjoy all these little moments. This is how I (and this will sound corny) remember Bilbo at the start of the “Fellowship of the Rings” movie, and Morty from Rick and Morty:
“It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.”
It is stupid, but this brings me some comfort.
Conclusion
This article is to not actually solve the death anguish, but to act as a reminder, like the whole blog does. So, the next time I feel that way, this article will EITHER remind me how to be optimistic, OR it will open the editor and change it 😄 .
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