In this day and age, with so much strife and division in the world, it’s not too much of a stretch to wonder if we’re all heading toward extinction.
When that will happen is anyone’s guess. But you and I will die before then. It’s as routine as being born.
However, regarding our own fate, it can be distressing to miss the cue cards of our living drama and find out after the fact.
Sometimes it’s hard to accept.
Now, to ensure we’re on the same page, dead has different meanings.
On the one hand, it means lacking feeling, numb or unresponsive, weary, worn-out, or exhausted. Those connotations express that a person is at least alive, albeit poorly.
However, we are sticking with the most basic definition: no longer living or breathing. In other words, no beating heart, deceased, kicked the bucket, gone.
Since scientists have found that consciousness continues after death, how does one know they’re dead if their consciousness is still hanging around?
Anecdotally, you may know of someone who was able to communicate with a friend or loved one after they passed. Or, maybe you’ve experienced such yourself.
Certainly, the idea of communicating with those on the other side has lived on for centuries, via the history of mediums and psychics. And even if we presume that many, or even most are charlatans, who can say that none of them throughout history was capable of communicating with the dead?
Fear not. The following will shed some illumination on the topic of your own passing.
PEOPLE CAN NO LONGER SEE YOU. As obvious as this may be, it can still be startling to encounter. Folks tend to identify each other through their physical bodies. These corporeal constructs serve as a recognizable substitute for our true selves. So, once your body is dead, many people accept that you are, too. Regardless of any existing beliefs, ultimately each will come to know about post-corporeal consciousness when their own bodies give up the ghost.
SOME PEOPLE WILL COMMUNICATE WITH YOU WITHOUT SPEAKING. As noted in point one, most presume that when your body dies, so do you. But not everyone. Those who are aware of your presence may hold thought conversations. Sometimes purposefully. Other times, accidentally, and perhaps with some incredulity.
YOU CAN’T EAT. Yep. You need a body for that. No more chocolate cake and ice cream for you. On the other hand, you no longer have to worry about whether you’ve eaten too much or not enough. Any previous concerns about body weight are out the window. If there’s any saving grace about not eating your favorite foods, it’s that you’re no longer hungry.
NO SEX. For some, this is the harshest reality. On the other hand, it can also be a driving motivation to get a new body. Really, it’s just part of that cycle of life and death thing that’s been going around for a while.
YOU’LL BE REPLACED AT WORK. It doesn’t matter if you show up or not because people can’t see you and you can’t accomplish what you did before. Unless you were truly useless, someone else is going to do your work. And if you were useless, they’re going to do it better. Of course, for some people not working is the most desirable aspect of dying.
YOU LOSE YOUR MONEY. Well, if you don’t have much, this isn’t a big deal. But if you spent all your life laboring to make whatever you got, it does seem unfair to lose it. Hopefully, you made a will so you had some say in where it will go. The last entity that deserves it is the state.
So, enjoy that body while you got it! But when it’s finally sputtered out, take these tips to heart so you aren’t the last to know.
by George Alger
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