Recent events have made my little corner of the world even less safe then before. They've also turned my thoughts to death, both the effect it has on people in general, and my thoughts own eventual (and hopefully distant) demise.

One thing that I noticed is the no matter how much people claim to believe in an afterlife, most humans are overwhelmed by the sorrow for their loss. When a loved one's death is caused by another human, there is a strong drive for revenge and "justice". Ironically, those who believe most strongly in a paradise for the departed seem to be the most likely to want justice in the very final sense of the death penalty. There seems to be little thought given to the fact that for the person being executed, it's over rather quickly, while the ones who really suffer are the family members and friends left behind. Like every other form of violence, it's a vicious cycle, even if you put together a philosophy that allows for a Just War, a Just Execution, etc, etc.

On matters of my own mortality, I can't muster a great deal of concern about the issue. I of course hope to spend many long years enjoying my family and all this life has to offer. I also want to be as sure as I can that those I leave behind will be cared for, since I will no longer be around to see to it myself. However, I don't really see much to fear about the whole act of passing on. On a very deep level, I can't really differentiate it from any other new experience. There are plenty of things on Earth that have required a leap of faith into a great unknown. I suppose if someone lived in a cave their whole life, and suddenly found a way out into the open world, that would be overwhelmed and scared by the newness and difference of it all. But if they had spent a good deal of time looking out the cave entrance, wondering what was out there in that great beyond, I think that they would look forward to setting out to explore. This is, in my view, the greatest benefit of spending some time every now and then to think on death. Regardless of belief system, those who do so tend to face their mortal end with serenity and peace.