“On Death and Dying“

The idea of death makes one aware of one's life, one's vital being – that which is impermanent and will one day end.  When this vitality is appreciate, one feels free – for there is no urgency to perform some act that will cancel the possibility of death, seeing as though there is no such act.  In this sense, all human activity is absurd, and the real freedom is to be aware of life in its actually and totally, of its beauty and its pain. (Albert Camus)

 

There are 5 stages of grief or sorrow for terminally ill persons may go through upon learning of their terminal illness. These five stages are:

1. First is Denial. What is the first thing they do? The first reaction is shock. The universal first reaction to hearing the news is, “No.”  The second stage that quickly follows is denial. Terminally ill patients would say: “This cannot be happening to me.”
2. Second is Anger. “%$@^##& car!”, “I should have junked you years ago.” Do we slam our hand on the steering wheel? I have. “I should just leave you out in the rain and let you rust.”
3. Third is Bargaining. Like when we are going to work realizing that we’re going to be late for work, we say “Oh please car, if you will just start one more time I promise I’ll buy you a brand new battery, get a tune up, new tires, belts and hoses, and keep you in perfect working condition.
4. Fourth is Depression. This is one of the examples of what we say when we are depressed: “Oh God, what am I going to do. I’m going to be late for work. I give up. My job is at risk and I don’t really care anymore. What is the use?”
5. Fifth is Acceptance — “Ok. It’s dead. Guess I had better call the Auto Club or find another way to work. Time to get on with my day; I’ll deal with this later,” is one of the statements we say when we accept our situation.

Source: #Elisabeth Kubler-Ross