by William Falcone

Created on: August 13, 2009   Last Updated: August 18, 2009

Fear of death is part of our innate sense of being or consciousness. Because we are alive we are aware. Our awareness and enjoyment of life creates fear. Fear of non-existence causes us to fear death.

The root of the problem is the inconceivability of not existing. Throughout history man has had to develop ideas to overcome the fear of the unknown. God or Gods,of course, evolved from man's inability to imagine himself as dead. Gods and various religions came about with very elaborate details and mythological stories.

Many can become attached to a concept of heaven and hell. All they have to do is live life according to their particular religious doctrine. If this belief system is helpful to those practioners then it is,essentially, good for them. If the person who practices these beliefs(for example Christianity or Islam) has minimal critical thinking skills, fear of death may be conquered. However, many are incapable of this type of devoutness and blind faith. Critical thinkers are unlikely to blindly dive into a belief system devoid of rational or humanistic philosophy.

These individuals, such as me, will fear the great unknown because it is not human life. To conceptualize our own non-existence can create a life of anxiety. In my own life alcohol and, to a lesser degree, drug usage, can serve a useful purpose of numbing the fear. Typically the need for numbness may occur after the teen years. The days of inevitability will cease. As the years progress and middle age approaches the fear increases. At times panic ensues and prescription medications are necessary. This is not so uncommon. What is generally overlooked is the cause of this panic. The answer is simple-fear of dying.

The cycle of doom and gloom with occasional respites are what becomes of us who fail to accept the life cycle, with it's nasty conclusion. Is there a solution ? One might think that the roller coaster ride of life and its continuous ups and downs will always end tragically. The true tragedy is not the actual death (since non-existence is not definable and,therefore, not emotionally painful.) What is tragic is the idea that one will arrive at the moment before death experiencing the panic that has caused so much suffering in the time between birth and death. A panic so overwhelming that its mere idea can overwhelm one's brain.

So my research began. Traditional religions sere out as I was certain that a man-made God was just a fairy tale. It seems some of us know this by the age of nine(when Santa Claus is discovered as the fraud that he is.)

I landed on the front porch of a Buddhist temple run by the monks of Sri Lanka. What was eventually learned was the concepts of suffering and impermanence. Suffering is life. This may not be the extreme suffering that many equate with physical pain or the death of a loved one. But simply an attachment to an idea or concept that must be. If it is not then the suffering begins. It is the human condition to suffer. The good news is that suffering, like everything else, is impermanent. It will cease to exist. Hence, suffering ends. Many will think that impermanence only is related to suffering. Impermanence is applied to everything. In fact knowing that the good times are also impermanent is a freeing sensation. If everyone could grasp this concept then we would all realize that life is to be respected, and that humans should all be respected and treated with civility. We are all impermanent. We are all the same.

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