A Realist about Death

Prompt: The Daily Topic: "When did you finally become a realist about something? Write about an event that changed the way you thought."

If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.” The Crow (1994)

Live your life as if today were the last day. There will be loads to do and loads to look forward to. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow.

I used to think that everything ends when someone is dead. Life ends, becomes meaningless. There’s nothing left to do than mourn. Things don’t remain the same. You don’t know where to go, what to do, how to handle things. It becomes futile and worthless. But a young death in the family recently changed my views on the way I used to think about death. Rather, I became a pragmatist. Its not that I haven’t witnessed deaths of people close to me, but mostly have been at a latter stage of life – either very old or maybe we could see it coming as they were unwell. One almost died in my arms. We were prepared. But this one shook me and shook me so hard that it will stay forever. Somebody did pass away even last year, but it took me a while and I moved on. But a young death of my cousin left me motionless. She was barely 32, and she just had a slight fever and cough. Pregnant, she was admitted to a hospital to be cured. On the contrary, she came out not restored, but dead. She’s left behind a young daughter of 6-7yrs…..what do we do? How do we make her understand?

This stark reality changed me. The world for her closest ones has changed forever. But what happens to the rest of us who don’t stay with her but are mere relatives? Life goes on. Everyone who has their plans with anything else continues. You feel sad, very sad, but what do you do? Shed a few tears, feel immensely bad, be there with the people who are suffering the most in these bad times, and then what…you carry on…

I truly believe today that life is short. You don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. And death affects only the people who are extremely close to you; maybe your parents and your spouse and children. For the rest, life goes on. For the closest, the dent remains and it remains forever. But after a few years, they learn to carry on as well. Do they have a choice – NO….I have become a realist.

A quote by Robert Frost justifies my comprehension on death and reality: In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on.