The illness and dying unit has helped give me a new perspective on the idea of illness and dying. This unit has helped me understand that what i fear is not death but is the journey to it (which is illness and dying). When reading Tuesdays with Morrie i felt a connection with Morrie the main character in the book, almost as if i were the narrator himself. many ideas were being addressed in the book but the few ideas that i felt popped out to me were Morrie's ideas on how life is to be lived. He discusses being kinder to others, allowing your emotions to fully penetrate you (detachment), he briefly mentions the aspect of living using technology and machines, the way we trick ourselves on our view on illness and dying, and he also mentions how to prepare for death.
The source that has been most helpful in grasping a deeper understanding of our culture's dominant social practices around illness and dying would have to be Tuesdays with Morrie because of the fact that i could relate with the narrator on the process of having a loved one die. I was able to look back and see how i reacted when my loved one died and realized all the things i did that were typical, i responded to the dying of my loved one with anger and sadness and not allowing my self to dettach the way Morrie suggested which may have helped me with that experience and the aftermath that came with it. I feel that group discussions would be the best use of our time. If we could process our thoughts on this unit with each other for a little while we could get a better understanding of it.
You make a key distinction between death and the process of dying. This is very honest and, I think, actually quite common. Many people are afraid of Being Dead because their religious centers have made them afraid of the prospect of some kind of eternal punishment. However, a more subtle and much more rational fear is the fear of losing one's vitality, of becoming Old and possibly Frail. If people examined their feelings more, I suspect they would agree with you.
ReplyDeleteI applaud your idea that having more time to discuss these issues would allow you to come to a better understanding, even if I don't agree with you. Seems to me (and I have never lost somebody close) that the only way to understand these feelings is to have experienced them - similar to being In Love. However, as an overall idea, I appreciate your notion that examining life and its feelings leads to greater clarity. I agree with that.
As you continue with this unit, I would challenge you to think further about the ideas of dying or serious illness as opposed to just being dead. This is not pleasant. Humans don't like to think of ourselves losing our power. However, if you can accept it, particularly at such a young age, hopefully you will be able to embrace the time you have even more.