This article from the NY Times talks about death, and the importance of truly living our lives.
Have any of you experienced death? What was it like for you? Did it change your perception of living?
Okay– the link: NY Times
Ciao Bellas!
Kristin
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” The antidote to death is life.”
I think that line in the article is amazing.
I flatlined for 7 seconds in the hospital once I guess thats like dieing since your heart isnt beating anymore but I dont know im not a doctor lol. I do believe that death is right around the corner and its very unexpected most times, you never know when your time could be up, today, tomorrow, next year. We only get ONE life, its best to live it to the fullest and be happy, and if your not happy do something that will make you happy. If you live life the way you want to then when the time comes I think you will be ready to leave, you might not want to but youll be ready.
I have always wanted to just drop everything and travel, see the amazing things in the world, and meet new people. I think that will make me happy,just be myself and do what I dream of doing. That is what I think about when I think of death..just living and when death comes a knockin I wont be so scared to leave.
WOW! Colleen you flatlined? What a crazy experience.
Death is a funny thing…I have experienced death in many forms, peaceful and loving, sudden, tragic, angry and the long suffering kind.
Each experience has affected me differently…and I cant agree enough with the statement “The antidote to death is life.” When you feel peace and live in the moment if feels what I imagine people describe as Heaven.
Its a hard place to find but when you do hold on and enjoy every moment 
Okay I’ve not experienced death…but I have felt the presence of a spirit and no not highschool football team spirit, like a ghost spirit. It was kind of freaky and I definitely wanted to like get out. Okay so I probably should share where I was….it was like I wanna midnight to two o’clock in the mourning and I started feeling as if someone was standing over me like trying to wake me in a way but not exactly. So when I woke, because who doesn’t wake up when they feel that, I seen like this shadow of a man medium built kind of just standing there looking down on me. I sat up, blinked a few times, because I couldn’t believe it, then it just disappeared in thin air. It was freaky completely like I had to call my bf and wake him up to tell him but thankfully he was understanding and talked to me til i fell asleep on the phone. I was so scared you guys you wouldn’t believe !!
Wow this topic came on an interesting day. I just found out that the brother of one of my good friends from high school died over the weekend. I can’t even imagine, how my friend or her family is feeling right now, nor would I want to. It’s so crazy that death is all around us, it something that is happening all the time. But when it hits us, or someone close to use it’s so paralyzing. When I first heard about my friends brother my immediate thought was this could never happen to my family(that’s my fear mixed with denial), but I can’t control that, no one can. When it’s you time to go, you’re going. Like that article says the only antidote to death is life. You can’t dwell on the fact that were all going to die eventually, you have to live your life to the fullest, love you’re hardest, and don’t ever take the people you love, or the things that you have for granted.
I had an out-of-body experience recently. I got up off the bed and saw myself still laying there. I got the usual “Who is that? That isnt me.” thing you hear people talk about. I figured out it was at some point and tried to shake myself awake. I watched myself sit up and look toward me… or whatever I was right then. The experience ended shortly after.
Personally, no, I haven’t experienced death and the thought of it frightens me. It’s really ironic that you chose this article KK, cos just earlier this week a girl that I work with in my office committed suicide and it’s this mystery to us still cos we had no idea that she was so deeply depressed and that she saw no way out but to end her life. For me it’s been a delayed reaction and a wake up call to just savour the happy moments in my life and I guess to try not to hold grudges.
I had the smae experience Robby 
It was realy, i don’t have thw word to express it.
I tried reading it, but stopped mid way through. It was making me sick. I definitely don’t like thinking about death.
The only experiences I have are the fact both my maternal grandparents died (one about 3 years ago and the other last year), my mom flatlined once during the birth of my sister (who was stillborn), my dad came close to dying, and same with me a couple of times.
I am terrified of losing someone I love, so much I start sobbing at the thought of it, so I usually try not to think about it.
Don’t know why but just don’t like talking about death very much!
hate going to funerals i just prefered to remeber the person as she or he was!
xoxoxo
hey’ when I was born , I died for 2 minutes , my father turned off the video camera owing to the mid-wife request .
And I re-born and I raised my body with my arms”, before to fall down .
I think I have a kind of sensual relation with the death , I don’t fear death , death liberate us from the fury of the Time , I believe you have to see that like an award , It’s especially life which is inflicted on us .
WOW..! WHAT AN AMAZING ARTICLE THANKS FOR sharing kristin…..!
I LOVE THE QUOTE:
” The antidote to death is life.”
It really makes you meditate about your life and how bless we are to still have the oppurtunity to be in this world and do great things.!
xoxo
Marie
truly…
im not afraid of death itself.
What im afraid of is lack
of experience when i die…
travel, people, etc. andddd
knowing who i am.
I want to be comfortable in
my own skin when i die
or i think i will be distressed
and never at full peace with myself
I have only really known one person who has passed away, and that was my grandmother, four years ago. At that moment it was so surreal, and I couldn’t believe, so much that it took me one week to actually cry.
Death is something that really scares me, partly because I don’t know what it will feel like, and what will happen afterwards, and partly because I am afraid that I possibly might not live my life to its fullest potential.
Over time, I’ve found myself thinking about death during long periods of time and what it all means, to the point where I scare myself out of my wits. But I think the only honest thing I can say about death is that it happens to everyone, it can happen at anytime. Some people die suddenly and within seconds, and for others its a long, painful, drawn out process. I think the only thing we can do, and something that I try do to personally, is not think about death and live in the moment.
I know we all hear this a lot, and I know it gets pretty repetitive, but we really must live life to the fullest. But more importantly, we must focus on the important things in life. At the end of the road, it won’t matter how much our annual income was, or how big our house was, or any other superficial aspects of life. To me, the consumer driven world is all bull. The people we are, the way our friends and family remember us, the legacy we leave behind: that’s what really matters in the end. And to me, that’s all I can hope to do, that is all I strive for.
So in the end, if my friends and family know just how much I really love them, or if I leave behind an idea or legacy that people can look up to, then I think I’ve done all I can do in my life….so by the time I die, I can look back and be pretty happy about my life.
I found myself “fighting” for my life not so long ago, it is not something that I want to experience anytime soon. It does make you look at things differently but it shook me up pretty bad psychologicaly (spelling?)! Medication and professional help needed! That expression people say that you see your whole life flash in front of your eyes turned out to have some thuth to it! Except all I saw in those few seconds were my mistakes in life! So I take it that meant I wasn’t supposed to “go” just yet! Somehow I think when you really “go”, you won’t feel the way I felt for that fraction of a second! I do have some hope you’ll experience some sort of peace….
That was a really intense article. I definitely could not be a nurse because I’d be crying all the time!
In the last year I have lost my Mom, Dad, Grandma, Foster Sister and her two small children. It’s been rough – really rough, but grief counseling helps.
Also, I know this sounds weird, but I feel like I’m enjoying life a lot more now. What I mean is that I feel a deeper appreciation for the people around me and for the time I get here on earth. I’m quicker to forgive and I’m putting more effort into my relationships. I’m not religious, but I pray every day now, and my general sense of serenity and joy has deepened.
hello Kristin,
I’ve not experienced death but I understand that these kind of experiences can be overwhelming.
Sometimes people says ” it’s just today that I realize how beautiful the life is”.
So I think we need to love each days .:)
And you , have you experienced death ?(I don’t know if I can ask you that but we talk about us without asking you what you feel too , sorry
Best whishes
xoxo and ciao bella
My grandma died at the start of the year. She had been diagnosed with 2 anyeurisms (sp?) in november and we were told there was nothing that could be done but they didnt know how long she had left. I expected to cry all the time but when it actually happened I didnt. The only times I cried it was because I felt so awful for my mum and my aunt. I didnt even cry at the funeral and I thought it was very strange, like I wasnt reacting how I should have been and that there was something wrong with me because I was thinking so positively about it. She had a good christmas and new year with us, she wasnt alone when it did happen, it was peacefull because she was asleep when it happened, she wasnt suffering any more and we werent all on edge anymore thinking “will today be the day it happens”.
So yeah, everyone reacts to it differently and my experience made me realise that death isnt necessarily an awful thing (even though the loss of a loved one is).
@ Grace – I’m so sorry! But you’re still standing, and not afraid to ask for help, so that says a lot about you. Hope the road ahead of you gets easier to walk.
I’ve had grandparents and an uncle die, but it didn’t really affect me because I didn’t really remember them (had only met them a couple times maybe). No one close to me has ever died. So my view of death is perhaps very naive.
I do see a lot of people die because of my work though. And having seen that kind of death, it does make me wonder what we as a society consider to be a good death. I think the way we die is just as important as the way we live. When my time comes, I’m not sure I want to spend my last moments in a hospital. I want to be at home, or outside, or some place that reminds me of how much I’ve enjoyed my life. And when my loved ones are with me, I don’t want them to be sad. When I go out, I want all of us to be laughing.
Yesterday is in the past
Tomorrow is in the future
But today is a gift
That is why it’s called the present
Your friend in Reader’s Digest
Scott123
well…i guess before i die i would want to know the meaning for life
because ive heard some people look for i their whole life and they never find it
that kinda freaks me out……..
yeah i definetely afraid of death at this point in life probably cuz im only 15
in life, we always search for answers coz we want to prove to ourselves that we made the right decisions..but the truth is, we cant search for what’s not there…things happen coz it’s meant to happen…thats why we forgive people even if they hurt us, we love people who might not love us back, and we smile despite every painful crash in our hearts….coz in the end, you’ll see that the lessons you learned are the answers to your decisions….
have what i just said made any sense?
hehehe
Jane
September 9, 2008Wow! That was really deep. & I agree. The only antidote is life. You’ve got to take comfort in the fact that you lived your life the way you wanted to when you die…i think anyway
Thanks for posting this!