long life

Death is beautiful.

Don’t read if you’re less than 21.
Disclaimer: This is not a suicide note

I have always wondered why nobody talks about death. When the topic comes up, you hear things like “death is not my portion” or “are you depressed?”

Photo by Simran Malhotra

Growing up, the mention of the word alone made me cringe. I didn’t want to imagine what death would be; I wanted to live. I don’t want to die now, but I know I would one day. Its life and life entails death.

My thought pattern started early this year. I had plans, a lot, and I was afraid. I didn’t know what people would think of me and, most importantly, if I’d succeed in whatever it was, I was planning to achieve. I didn’t want to see myself fail.

“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” — Denis Waitley

Photo by Bhawna Malhotra

The fear of failure became so prominent in my heart that I had already given up even before I set out to do something. I decided to journal about it and began thinking of it. One day, I came up with something that has since helped me. It was very simple. “If I die, what are the things I’d regret that I didn’t do?”

Those words changed me. I realized that when death comes, nobody cares about your failures. They mourn for a while, and it’s over. Everyone continues to live and accept that you’re no longer on their journey. As painful as that sounds, it’s reality.

I do not pray for death for anyone, but I wish to be like Paul. I want to live life knowing I will die, and that’s the end of this temporary world. I want to know that I lived to please the One and achieved those little things(It might be bigger; who knows?)

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

So in all, I think death is beautiful. One man looked at us and died so we might live- I don’t know what else could be as beautiful as that. So I’m learning that we die every day. Some to sin, some to failures, some to problems, but the biggest of all is to die and leave the world. It’s inevitable, and I hope people understand this and live their lives. Live as though today is your last.

Photo by ACM

I didn’t write this so that you might die. “With long life, he will satisfy you.” I’m writing this so that in this long life given to us, we maximize it to the fullest. We live as though we do not know when we will be called home.