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Death and Dying: A Reflection
My first experience with death was when I saw a victim of hit-and- run lying on the road. I was driving alone on a country road when I encountered the horror. My heart almost skipped a beat as I stepped on the emergency brakes. My body felt cold. I suddenly developed goose bumps. His lifeless body lay across the road in a fashion that no car could pass without having to crush it. He was a middle- aged man, maybe going back to his family. The bag of groceries he was carrying home lay haphazardly on the other side of the road. His blood painted the whole scene red- just like in the movies.
After the incident, I then realized how life could be so short. Probably, the man had bid his family goodbye before leaving to pick up groceries. May be he was not on good terms with his spouse and did not get the chance to mend things. A stream of unending questions ran through my mind as I waited for the police to arrive.
The experience got me thinking about my life. I began to question my real purpose on this earth. I kept wondering what would happen if I had an untimely demise like the man’s. That is when I realized that I needed to accomplish some things on this earth before my departure. Number one on the list is to be at peace with Allah. It is important for one to shape their future here on earth and in the afterlife (Bloom & Hobby, 2009). That is only possible by establishing a good relationship with one’s God.
It is also important to be at peace with my fellow human beings here on earth before I depart. When I saw the victim’s body lying on the ground, I figured, maybe he never had time for his family because he spent the whole day working. Maybe he had not seen his parents in 10 years. I do not wish to be apologizing to people on my deathbed while I should be preparing to meet my Maker. That is why it is important to make peace with fellow humans before it is too late. Feelings of bitterness only serve to weigh down the heart of an individual (Morris, 2012).
Before I die, I would like to leave a clear legacy on this earth. I would not want people to lie about my legacy when eulogizing in my funeral. To avoid this, I will achieve real results that people will be proud of. According Bloom and Hobby (2009), people try to find something nice to say about the dead when eulogizing. My first legacy would be to become an accomplished researcher and academician. I want to discover stuff. I also want to help people. Immediately after the accident, I realized that I had not been doing enough to help those in need. Since then I started to perform little acts of charity. It became my mission to help as much people as I possibly can. That too will form part of the legacy I want to leave on this earth.
In conclusion, death is a devastating experience. I remember having nightmares for three consecutive nights. I developed a phobia towards walking on the road. I recall staying in the house for a whole week. However, the experience acted as an eye- opener and I am somehow thankful for it. It made me question the existence of human beings. I believe that people were created to live, procreate and die. However, on mystery of death, I began to seek answers, some of which I have not figured to date.
Reference
Bloom, H., & Hobby, B. (2009). Death and Dying, New York: Infobase Publishing
Morris., K.K. (2012). Living with cancer: making peace with the past. Chicago now. Retrieved from, <http://www.chicagonow.com/cancer-is-not-a-gift/2014/01/living-with-cancer-making-peace-with-the-past> 10 November, 2015