If the fear of death were a seed that we could plant and water it would grow into a multi-branched shrub, a little thorny and prickly one. This fear of our death seed has branches that would perhaps surprise you.
Let’s take a look at this fear of death bush a little more closely.
What death means to me in simple terms is something existed and now it doesn’t – something was and now it isn’t. Well, in a way the word change could take the place of the word death. Some synonyms for change are words such as alter, modify, and transform. So if we give death a wider beam, more than the death of a body, it opens up the discussion of death to many more ‘types’ of mini-death. This is where planting the seed of death comes in to play and broadens our understanding of the impact a bad relationship with our human death has on our ability to live a full human life.
Something was and now it isn’t.
The fear of ‘death’ spoken in this way leads to many other fears of events that simulate deaths of different types all linked to the fear of change or the fear of something coming to an end. We often talk about how many folks really dislike or are afraid of change, well underneath the dislike of change is this deeper fear of death – ‘cause they are the same darn thing!
How many of you have stayed in a relationship too long?
How many of you have stayed in a job too long?
How many of you have stayed in a home too long or kept a car too long?
How many of you have held onto habits too long? Or personality traits too long?
How many companies have stayed with a brand too long?
I know myself I have often fallen prey to the fear of change, the fear of letting go, the fear of not knowing. Every time I stayed too long in a job or in a relationship the consequence were harsh. My fear was overpowering and I was unable to see with clarity and make good decisions. This paralyzing fear of change was totally linked to my fear of death. My life was less than because I was afraid of something I could not prevent – my human death. Once I fully accepted my death I became immediately free to live my life.
How odd, death the great liberator in life.
Leave a Reply