Life and Death

Sir Isaac Newton once said, “an object in motion stays in motion, and an object at rest stays at rest”. Now when he came to that conclusion I’m pretty sure he didn’t have the same concept in mind, as I do now. Growing up I was fortunate enough to not have much death around me. There were a few that were shocks to my entire system, but thankfully I had time to heal properly without them compounding. Not everybody is so lucky though, and it got me thinking, about how more and more as I got older my friends would joke about wanting to die because of whatever was currently the bane of their existence at the moment. I would be lying if I said I was innocent of doing this, and I’m not sure exactly when but I have been conscious of trying to stop. I want to stop because when I really think about it, I most definitely don’t want to die. Maybe I thought it was because of not wanting to leave my family or friends and that is true. But I realized it was more for myself than anything, not to sound like one of those people but, life is beautiful. Everything about it, from when the sun rises to when the moon takes its place it is happening to us and all around us. Even if we don’t want it to, it is out of our hands, and we don’t live forever. For a while that really scared me, because it is so final. I have heard people boast about not being afraid to die, and I used to as well. But honestly I can’t think of a world where that is true in its entirety. I can completely understand that you shouldn’t walk on eggshells so that you minimize the chances of it. But to not be afraid? It really does scare me honestly. When I think about how many of the things in our world that don’t last forever, and how we cherish them because of that very reason. While at the same time we are mad or afraid, even annoyed at what It seems could be ending in that moment. Everyday ventures like Traffic, finals, even something like a headache. In no world would I wish a perpetual sentence of any of those three amongst many others, on anybody. But if they lasted forever that breeds an air of finality and nobody wants that. Death like the aforementioned is along the same lines, in the sense that It is final. It is on a list that is a party of two that pertains to our life’s limited guarantees, so why would anybody even joke about it? Claim to not be afraid of dying, when it means losing everything that you have worked for? Leaving everybody that you have ever loved? That would suck, for lack of a better word, but we embrace it? Even welcome it in certain situations? Whether you’re serious or not, I honestly can’t wrap my head around the notion of it being okay anymore. Life is precious, and its ending is also the second and final item on a list of guarantees we have in this world. When your life starts, it takes off with a full head of steam. The good, the bad and the ugly, no matter what you do and it waits for no one. When death becomes you, that’s it. Of course different belief systems and ideologies give people comfort about it, and that’s great. It just isn’t a reason to not understand the gravity of what death is nor is it a reason to dismiss the significance of a life well loved and lived. I believe Sir Isaac Newton was talking about motion in its finite sense, and obviously was brilliant. But it applies to a multitude of topics, and this is one of them. I don’t know everything and I would never claim to, but I do know that Objects in motion stay in motion, and an object at rest stays at rest. You will be both in life at some point, just be sure you’re putting on the emphasis on the part that you can enjoy. Because when you are at rest, you stay at rest.