Journal Entry #1 - Death

Hey guys, I'd really appreciate it if you could help me look through this for a bit!
Questions, comments, suggestions, critiques, I'll welcome them all!
Sankyou~~!


Death
What is it about this one simple word that strikes fear into so many people? I mean, everyone wants to live longer. Nobody wants to die. 

 I just wonder why so many people are so afraid of this simple little word. The dictionary puts it quite scientifically, without any emotion: “Death is the permanent end of the life of a person or animal, when the heart stops beating and all other functions of the body and brain stop too.” There, plain and simple. Nothing so terrifying, is it?

But since when the image of Death become, from the end of the life of a person or animal, to a hooded figure with a scythe in its decaying hand? When did we get so terrified of all that Death represents? I cannot comprehend this.

Maybe it’s a bit scary to accept that Death awaits you no matter who you are, how old you are or what you do. Just as Death may choose to claim a 102-year-old man for its own, it may also take the life of a baby, newly delivered into this world, just like that baby that died in Brazil. I won’t go into the grisly details, but according to the article, which was published on the 20th of May, the baby’s head had been snapped during childbirth. It was a complete accident, but what if it was fated to be? What if Death had actually chosen that moment to strike and claim that baby’s life? I just hope that he didn't feel any pain.

I have to admit, I love the concept of Death. I love the fact that everyone dies, no matter what we do to try and stop it. I love the idea of Death as an actual entity, watching the people in the world and knowing when each person has to go. It gets me many strange looks, and most people are slightly taken aback by the fact that a petite Chinese girl is so intrigued by the idea of Death, but there you have it. I just feel that instead of fearing something that we cannot prevent, we should just embrace it. I’m not encouraging anyone to take their life, because we should definitely treasure whatever life we have. I’m just saying that when Death comes knocking at your door, you should greet it with acceptance, instead of running to hide in the corner. I quote Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: “After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

I guess I’d like to end this journal with a poem that I chanced upon while aimlessly surfing the net a week ago. It’s “Embracing Death” by Paula Swanson.

Beyond yon roof, of sod and thatch
Beyond yon door, of wood and latch
Beyond the reach of man's morals
Beyond yon hedge of thicket Laurels

Dwells a creature in forest veil
Dwells one, that lives, beyond the pale
Dwells, who takes victims with care
Dwells, who with, blank eye does stare

Watch, it does, from beneath the moon
Watch, it does, from shadows bestrewn
Watch, it has intent to bespell
Watch and feel its brace impel

Whilst, I hold, dreams sempiternal
Whilst, I invite, days be final
Whilst, I take last, sweet breath
Whilst, I embrace my lover....Death

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's Your Patronus?

Image
What's a patronus? According to Professor Lupin, it "is a kind of Anti-Dementor - a guardian which acts as a shield between you and the Dementor". It basically conjures an incarnation of the caster's innermost positive feelings, such as joy or hope, and is a weapon rather than a predator of souls. Patronuses shield their conjurors from Dementors, and can even drive them away. They can also be used to send messages. Well. I've always wondered what my patronus would be. Once upon a long-ass time ago when I was in Primary School, I'd have said that my patronus was a dog, mostly because my favourite animal back then was a dog (of course, that was way before I realised exactly how awkward I am around animals). Then a few years after that when I was in Secondary School, I would have said that my patronus was a tortoise or a turtle, for reasons that I'd prefer not to say. And then after I graduated from NAS, I asked myself again what my patronus co...
Read more

Red.

Image
I always dye my hair red - I started dyeing it two years ago after I completed my internship because I felt that it was time, I was ready, and I haven't dyed it a different colour ever since. Of course, constant dye jobs do nothing for the hair, which is why I allowed mum to nag me into doing a henna job on my hair instead of the usual bright red I ask of the hairstylist. The result is that my hair now looks orangey instead of red, which is what I expected but nevertheless found myself incredibly disappointed with. (The irony is that I never have such complaints about my hair colour whenever my red fades to orange within the first two weeks of the fresh dye.) Tsuki-kun told me that he felt the orange suited me better since the red was too bright, but I can't quite bring myself to agree with him. See, the thing about red is that I chose the colour myself - it was the colour I was absolutely sure that I wanted for myself, and I never regretted the colour. Sur...
Read more

Break The Mirror. Please.

Image
I don't want to look at myself in the mirror anymore. I don't want to see my reflection, I don't want to see that ugly girl staring back at me. Those pleading eyes. She wants me to do something, anything, just so she doesn't look so ugly. She's fat and ugly. Hideous, both inside and outside. All she wants is to stop thinking. Because every time she does, the knife inches ever closer to her heart. She will never be as perfect as her . She just wants to stop looking. Shut up. Just shut up. Stop comparing. I know I'm ugly. Stop thinking. Leave me alone! She wants to stop seeing all the fat bits, all the wobbly jiggly bits that she aches to just cut off. Just grab a knife and slice them all off and she won't be so FAT . She won't be so UGLY . She just wants to kill herself. Please?
Read more