Death Scares the Hell Out of Me

I think we're all a little scared of death. Even those that seem so sure of what happens after death, have at least some fear of the unknown.

I know its a morbid thing to be thinking of in the middle of an otherwise overcast Thursday, but media keeps making me think of it.

I put my Zune on random earlier this week, and My Chemical Romance's "The Black Parade" came on. I really wanted to listen to the whole album after hearing the song, so I went for it. It's a rock opera that tells the story of a cancer patient who dies in the first song, and him dealing with the afterlife and reflecting on his life through the rest of the album.



This song and music video specifically sum up the concept of the opera. The singer said this is based off his belief that whenever you die, death greets you in whatever way you would want it. In this case, the dying man has fond memories of a parade his father took him to as a child.

Then, I was watching Scrubs, and this tear-jerker of an episode came on.




JD and Turk both become attached to a guy who is dying and doesn't have any family left. His last request is a beer, which the two bring him, and they sit there reminiscing and talking deep.

I think its a well written dialogue. Patient is panicking knowing there's very little time left for him. Doctors, who have to deal with death everyday, explain it medically and then try to explain what they think spiritually.

It's just interesting to see someone on the brink of death having to quickly come to terms with what they actually believe. Most of us flounder through life with vague ideas of what we hope and think, but until the gun is to your head, you aren't really forced to decide.

Funerals, accidents, and other's deaths give us a small taste of our mortality. But that is the only time in life, while perfectly healthy, we are reminded that we are temporary creatures on earth.

I guess the best we can do on Earth is try not to regret much. Make sure you do those things you really care about. And as another episode of Scrubs reminds us, just go lay in the grass and do nothing sometimes.