Everyone always talks about living a good life – living life to the fullest. What about dying a good death? What would that entail and what does that mean? Today I saw my body, draped in the ceremonial covering of a morgue, and was told it was my funeral. I was asked for final thoughts on life, etc. I had none. I have always thought I have done many regretable things in my life, especially in the past year. However, at the moment of death, I have no regrets. I have come to terms with my past and made an active effort to alleviate my misactions. I did not recall these things at the moment of death because death is not just about remembering, but it is also about forgetting. We remember the good things as being much more impactful than they were and unconsciously overlook the bad as being negligible. It's amost funny how we do this, because no one wants to be left with bad memories.
Oddly enough, I had no real message to deliver to my parents, brother, or any friends. The content was the same: carry on, hold on, be strong. Remember the good times to supercede the bad, but do not live in the past. Inscribe me in the book of life and smile when you see my name amidst the ashes of your memories. To the rest of the world, I have nothing to say that the lifeless expression on my face does not communicate. I am just a name in the obituary section passed over by tens of thousands of readers. The world is cold, so why should I warm up to it, especially at the moment of departing? Life is but a dream that we all must wake up from, even if it's into a world of nothingness. No dream can last forever.
In the massacre of Lander Auditorium, the faces of all those killed were slowly flashed across the screen. When my face came, I wondered if I would be remembered a smiling or with a standard grimace. Since college I have stopped smiling in pictures to assume this image of the hardened indifferent thug. Is that me? Stripped of my identity or that which I have come to assume, is that how I want to be remembered? I know I'm full of smiles usually, yet I never smile in pictures. Maybe it's about time I change that. I want to be remembered as always smiling and happy to be alive.
In potential imminence of my death has made me realize I have spent too much time being unhappy or discontent or anxious about various issues. Some things are worth stressing about. Many others are not. It is time to draw lines and sever the worthwhile from the expendable.
I have realized that when I die, I do not want a funeral, at least not for myself. I do not want people crying over me. But it is unavoidable. In a culture as ours, where the idea of death is often times so frightening and so impactful, people need some sort of closure, some sort of unifying event to capture and pour out their ebullience. While obviously a funeral has no value to someone who is dead, I would not want a funeral after I die for the above reasons, yet it would be necessary for those who do not understand death as I do. Most people do not welcome it as I do. I do not welcome Death with open arms, but my door is unlocked should Death decide to pay a visit. I feel prepared enough for Death's company, yet there is always more preparation that can be made.
My funeral will not be a mourning of my death, but a celebration of my life. I want to put the 'fun' in funeral. I will be remembered not so much for my earthly accomplishments, but for the impact I have on others. This is my goal, my process. And so,
I don't dress to impress,
I dress for Death.
That's how I express my contempt
At ephemeral success.