A Paranormal Opinion with James Paradie: Scared to Death of Death

Death. A final conclusion we as humans are not fond of, despite it surrounding us on a daily basis. From friends to loved ones to celebrities to people on the news, it is bound to happen. Unavoidable. No one is exempt. The thought of death and what happens to us once we die is not a pretty thought. We can either die a tragic and painful death or blink once more to never open our eyes again; painless and without warning. We will all either be incinerated in a blazing inferno or buried and rot in the ground for the rest of eternity. Some of us will have generations visit our grave and some of us who are not as lucky will not and our names on our grave will vanish just as the memories of us. Everyone meets their end. Everyone watches their palaces burn to the ground.

Everyone has asked themselves this question at one point: what happens to us after we die? Although, no matter what any one says, we can't really prove what happens to us after we die until we die; it is one of those everlasting questions that does not have an answer. The only ones who know are the dead themselves.

Feelings of death can depend on person-to-person. Some may be overjoyed to see deceased family members if they believe in a heaven or some form of an afterlife. Some may be happy and content, because of various reasons: suicidal or terminal illness being two examples. But the most common emotion is fear. Fear because we really don't know what happens when we close our eyes for the last time.

A lot of people believe you go to Heaven, or some form of paradise, where your departed family members and friends wait for you. They come with you on your journey to this wonderful place. Clouds. Angels. You know the story. That is one of the more common ones, but where does the fear come from then if you're "promised" this destination once you pass away?  

It could be because a lot of people who may believe in that, may realize there is the slightest chance it could be malarkey. The blanket of security of an afterlife or a heaven may not actually be feasible. Or maybe because people of religion may be afraid of another place - Hell. The place you go to, according to The Bible, if you sinned. A place of eternal suffering.

But what if you don't believe in God, Heaven, the devil, or Hell? What do you fear then? Death itself. The terrible thing about death is most of the time we don't know when it's going to happen. Some do with incurable illnesses where a doctor can determine how long a person has to live. Most don't know, so all we have is an undetermined amount of time. Time to accomplish. Time to spend with our loved ones. Time to find ourselves. But time is constantly running out. It runs out even faster if you take advantage of your life. Smoking, drinking, doing drugs, eating unhealthy, but yet, people who do that still fear death when they're only making the process that much faster. But then again, a lot of us would most likely be lying if we said we never indulged in at least one of those bad habits.

I have heard many paranormal investigators say they do what they do, because they fear death. They fear what lies, if anything, on the other side. They want to find proof to give them that comfort. Although, there has been some interesting findings in paranormal research, we still can't say for certain if there is life after death. What if they found out? Will they just pack up and stop? Or will they find out more? Most likely the latter. Sometimes though, I feel that paranormal investigators get too caught up in the end result and not the journey of life itself. Too caught up on death can be a bad thing.

What if nothing lies ahead? What if you die and that's it? You only live on in memories. There is no afterlife, no God, no Heaven nor Hell. Nothing. You do not exist in any form whatsoever. A black void of nothingness. But why should that scare people? If you don't exist, you won't feel anything, because there was a time when we didn't exist and that was before we were born. We only exist in memory after death. That's it. It shouldn't be scary. Things that can hurt should be scary. Taxes should be scary. Snakes should be scary. Basically what I'm saying is THE NOW should be scary. Right now is the only time we should fear, because now is the only time that matters. After death, we have nothing to worry about. I mean, yes, if there is that slight chance that a religious afterlife does exist, then maybe, but who knows until then. 

You can fear all you want, but if you let the fear rule you, it will devour you. Live while you still can.