Philosophy Now Forum

"The man sitting on the park bench looked a bit odd, so some of the people walking near Lake Nokomis the day before Thanksgiving went closer to check. He wore a hat. He sat facing the lake. His mouth was open wide, as if in a scream.

During the ceremony, everyone agreed Scherer had been a gentleman and a scholar."
http://www.startribune.com/local/minnea ... 26473.html

The phrase "as if in a scream" suggests a mystery, an image that is open to multiple interpretations.

As I approach my 70th birthday, I increasingly wonder about the manner and circumstances of my death. I mostly worry about my dog, Jack.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Scream2.jpg

Comments on the subject of death?

You're feeling cheerful today Tom.

On a park-bench appears not a bad way to go given the myriad possibilities.

I think the 'scream' bit just goes to show how little people see death now-a-days, as whilst true it forgets that its ones terminal breath.

Won't the kids take the dog? But I think given the culture you live in you'll probably make another decade and by then I presume the dog will be pretty much ready to go as well.
p.s.
I think 'The Scream' is about living not dying.

I hope you are thinking along the lines of "someday" as you've mentioned imminent death a couples of times now in the forum. Plus why do you think you are going to go before your dog? Unless, something is wrong then I would say you are by far going to outlive Jack. 70 is not old. But one thing I do want to mention is that, you will be missed. No matter when you go...I for one hope it's later than sooner. Your posts have given me so much pleasure. Seriously please tell me that nothing is wrong and you are fine.

As for death itself, it is so weird thinking life as we know it will cease. I mean, there is an element of control over your environment that will be gone forever. No longer will you be able to type in forum, or talk with a friend...or go kayaking with jack....when I think in terms of the same for myself, it's not so much the death that I fear...but the losing of the control I had here on earth. Even if it is to silently leave my footprints on the sand.....there is a mark I have made that I will forever be unable to make...and I miss the thought of that. It's like mourning your death before you die. My words, body, voice ...my entire being will not exist insofar that I can control any action that I believe I am here to control. If my kids look at a video of me ...that is all they will get...a memory. No new insights to help them by means of what I have learned...if I forgot to tell them something important...it's all gone...I will not have a chance again. But then I think...I lived a good life without someone here to guide me...help me...I am sure they will too.

But then I think life winds down...and you don't have the power you had in your youth. When we start to get old it is not our world any more....it becomes the world of the young. We had our time and did not realize we replaced a whole generation with our exuberance. And so too the young don't realize how they replace us....until they become old and feel it happening to themselves too. Maybe that prepares us for death in a way....slowly losing control over our environment.

Still, that is neither here nor there Tom. You will not know the time of your death. You could live to be 100+ as far as you know....even if the doctors tell you no....it is not set in stone.....

So tell me Tom...do you think Jack will live another 30+ years? I seriously doubt it....but a more important question is...what are you going to do for 30+ more years? Are you going to sit around thinking of death...or are you going to do something you love. Why not write a book of your life. I would love to read it!

Civilisation is best measured by the number of people that pass by or step over dead human in the street.
The more 'civilised' a place is the more people walk on by.

Another measure might be the lengths a community goes to to determined the cause of death.
This poor guy did not get the benefit of an autopsy - a thing I find surprising in a civilised society.
This sort of approach helps the appearance of health statistics in a country woefully deficient in provision for the populace; death by heart disease or cancer would look bad - 'natural causes' looks good.

But on a lighter note....

We are all going to die, and all our efforts, pretensions and hybris will be nothing but dust in 100 years.

So why worry?

I thought I would not live long and that is why I sort of retired early. An acquaintance of mine, who was very energetic and did NOT retire but tried to achieve a lot, died many years ago. We do not know for sure what of. She was even slimmer than me.

Death can come any day.
We can have cancer and not know it.
We can get a stroke.
We can die in an accident.

But today we can still cook ourselves a big bowl of hot rice (or oats, or wild wheat), with ginger, and olive oil, and some jam we like, or whatever.
And we can do a whole bunch of interesting things.
Each encounter can be interesting and inspiring.
I am going to apply for two new jobs today.

Quote us something from Robert Frost that has touched you particularly.

The meal I suggested is not good for someone with diabetes, I realize now. I am sorry.
Paracelsus said: your food should be your medecine.
Is there anything a person with diabetes can eat in large amounts and at the same time improve his shape ?
It cannot be fat (although there is some Atkinson diet which is based on fat) and it cannot be protein.

How about fermented cabbage ?
Germans have become shy about eating the Sauerkraut, because of the nickname they were given by the Anglo-Saxons.

A man on a French forum suggested that it is the lack of fermented products, especially the lack of fermented cereals, which makes people more and more heavy.
It makes sense to me, I feel very good when I eat fermented things. Macrobiotics recommends them too (miso, gomasio are based on the same principle as far as I know).

There is nothing you can eat in large amounts that will help your shape.
In the end it's all about calories. You can't change the laws of physics captain, and the second law of thermodynamics is one of them.
There is one thing you might try. The calorific difference between your food and your excrement is the amount of energy you consume. If you want to consume less and eat the same you will have to increase the calorific content of your excrement.
We tend to have trouble extracting calories from raw food such as carrot. So eat more raw food.
The idea about eating more fermented food will not help in this respect as it is already pre-digested, which facilitates the uptake of calories.

The trouble with eating low-calory-availible foods such a raw carrot is that the feeling of fullness is mainly due to the amount of blood sugar, which will be lower with such foods. So whilst you can feel full you still have a sense of hunger, which needs to be trained away.

DEATH AND DYING

IN THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST TRADITION
Compiled by: Ven. Pende Hawter

Contemplation and meditation on death and impermanence are regarded as very important in Buddhism for two reasons : (1) it is only by recognising how precious and how short life is that we are most likely to make it meaningful and to live it fully and (2) by understanding the death process and familiarizing ourself with it, we can remove fear at the time of death and ensure a good rebirth.

Because the way in which we live our lives and our state of mind at death directly influence our future lives, it is said that the aim or mark of a spiritual practitioner is to have no fear or regrets at the time of death. People who practice to the best of their abilities will die, it is said, in a state of great bliss. The mediocre practitioner will die happily. Even the initial practitioner will have neither fear nor dread at the time of death. So one should aim at achieving at least the smallest of these results.

Some people can just be curious about what will come next and look forward to an eternal life as a pure spirit.
And hopefully other spirits, also those dead long before I was born, will be there for an eternal discussion.

And if not, then I will not be there to be disappointed.

Death may have big advantages, but some pleasures will not be available if the body is gone. So do not put off till tomorrow a delicious meal which you can cook today.
Green wild wheat (Grünkern), with a potato and some other things.
Do not insult your mouth with cheap unnatural stuff.

... a social mechanism to ensure good behaviour on earth and the justification to denigrate the disabled.

any other suggestions?

Yeah. If you care about other people then don't be a Buddhist.