Thoughts on Death...

A volunteer where I work died recently from cancer. It was a very quick passing. He was diagnosed just four weeks before he died. He and I used to have some pretty deep conversations about death and what might come after (this was long before his diagnosis). He was really interested in quantum physics and the possibility of different dimensions. He felt that life would continue in some way and that science was just as relevant as religion in finding answers. I couldn't argue with him.

A few days before he died he became withdrawn and no longer wanted visitors. He stopped talking and eating, only taking a few sips of water every now and then. I wonder what he thought of as he prepared to die. He knew death was coming. How does anyone prepare to die? How many people actually see death coming from a distance of weeks or days? How would each of us prepare for that moment? Death is something we never really contemplate as our eventual fate when we are young. As we grow older, the thought of our own inescapable fate looms a little larger; we accept death as a fact of life. But acceptance of the concept of death at age 55 is much different than facing it head-on at age 79 while fading away on a deathbed.

Death is the great unknown. The only way to know for sure that some part of us continues on in some form is to experience death ourselves. But there are other ways to gather evidence. Discovering that ghosts are real would certainly be one way. Others look to the experiences of those that have died and come back as evidence of an after life. I'm not convinced their experiences are truly paranormal. Too many scientific experiments have shown that most people who are deprived of oxygen have the same visions and experiences as those who had near death experiences. I'm rambling now, I know....But it is a blog.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this: I want to believe in ghosts because I want to believe in an after life. But I won't believe anything fully until it's proven.

I hope my friend is still thinking somewhere. I hope he has found answers to some of life's most enduring questions. I hope because I can't yet believe.