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Adanna will be two in December. She is always happy to follow her mother to their backyard to cook. Her mother uses charcoal stove to cook and one of the things that catches her fancy are the burning red coals, especially when they produce translucent blue flames. Like every beautiful thing she likes, she longs to have a feel of the coal. She desires to hold it like the hibiscus flower she adores. ‘Unfortunately’, each time she goes towards the coal, her mother had always stopped her with screams.
On this day, her mother who just finished parboiling the rice sat enthralled with her phone, waiting for the water she just poured to dry up. Adanna seeing this as a perfect opportunity, tip toed towards the charcoal stove and eventually, she touched the red coal. Her loud shout jolted her mother back to reality…
It is human nature to believe what we see. It is also human nature to be certain about what we know. The things we do not know, we seek to know so we could either believe or dispute what has been passed around. It is one reason science exists and excels. However, due to our mortal nature, some things elude us, especially such things that has to do with realms beyond the earth. One of those things is the philosophy that death is enshrouded in.
Everyone knows about the certainty of death. We know to enter this earth is to exit it after a while, but still we cringe at the mention of death or even the thought of it. Why do we fear death? People fear it for a number of reasons. While some people fear it because it doesn’t fully recognize the old or the young, some fear it because of the uncertainty that lies beyond this earth.
I know religion promises heaven for the salvaged ones, and hell for those who refuses to be salvaged in spite of good morals; could it be that the fact that our mind can't fathom what lies at the other side poses the greatest fear about death?
Like Adanna, we like to know things for sure. We want things to either be black or white. Going by our extremely logical nature, the grey area scares us. The only way to know about the afterlife is to die, and as it is, once we die, there is usually no return. Could this be the scariest thing about death?
If death leads us straight to heaven, why the fear? Why worry to leave a street barely tarred to a place tarred with gold and full of breath-taking mansions? Why worry about going to a place so supernatural and sparkling, such that produces no sorrow or ill? A place with no thoughts but awe. Why? If heaven does not scare us, then what scares us? The thought that hell exists too?
No doubt, there are other factors that scares too – the bond we share with fellow humans. The bond of fatherhood, motherhood, sisterhood, friendship and that with our spouses. Since death is usually a separation of some sorts, we dread to leave these people behind, especially our children who are just growing and processing this isle called earth. Our duties as custodians of fellow humans makes us strive to be alive, so our absence does not affect their lives’ journey adversely. Another factor is the desire to enjoy our existence to the fullest, since we can only be present in our bodies once.
There is the school of thought that the Creator of the earth owns us all (father, mother, child, whoever). Based on that, He takes care of us with or without those he has appointed as guardians for us (parents in this case). So, if that is out (the fact that He will take care of anyone left behind should death occur), why are we scared? With regards to enjoyment, more enjoyment is promised in the afterlife, especially if one has been salvaged by the Creator’s son who came from Heaven to die for all. There is also the promise of rest, where all struggles, phobias and labours would cease. So again, why the fear? Who doesn’t want to rest and have joy without lifting a finger?
Lastly, people fear death because of legacy. Knowing fully well that this side of life is only passed once, we want to leave our footprint, especially so people who come after us would know that someone once passed this way. We want our coming to have a lasting effect. As a result, we crave for a more lasting shelf life. Well, regarding this, there is the belief of a new heaven and a new earth, where all we did in this present life would not matter.
So, coming back to our first question, why do we fear death as humans? In as much as all reasons are valid, going by human nature (the need to see to believe), can we conclude that the uncertainty of the what happens, or will happen in the afterlife is what is the scariest factor? What do you think?
This article though written by the blogger, first appeared on BellaNaija blog, 12th of July, 2021.
