...Death is the essential condition of life

I have been thinking a lot about death lately. Not that I wish to start 2012 on such a sombre note but with age catching up on me, and also the people around me, maybe I should start taking our mortality a little more seriously. I used to think dying would be just like falling into a deep, peaceful slumber...only that it's for an infinite amount of time. It didn't used to scare me, in fact I accepted it as a natural progression from life. Lately however, I've been having different sentiments about death. I wish I can delay it or better yet, eliminate the inevitable completely, not so much as for myself but for the people I know and love.

I've only experienced death once. My paternal grandfather died 11 years ago and the whole ordeal was surreal. It was hard to coming to terms with losing someone you used to see every day. I remember someone telling me "Take one last look before we seal the coffin". The finality of that one single act is astonishing, it hits you once again that the person is gone from you, from this world forever. Even the lifeless body no longer contains the person you once knew, it's merely a shell, stripped bare from his or her soul.

I wonder how dying feels like. Painful, tormenting, what kind of emotions will pass, what our last thoughts will be. I don't think it will be entirely painless. Breathing is a natural instinct and when we die, we cease to breathe. Suffice to say, struggling to breathe will be no walk in the park. Much like drowning, gasping for air. Death goes against everything we have been accustomed to in this life. Breathing, surviving, living...Or maybe life and death are just two sides of the same coin.

I read this on my friend's Facebook wall once, that in creating life, we are also simultaneously creating death. The paradox of living, only to eventually die boggles my humble mind.

Death is very likely the single best invention of life.

All those people condemning the global mourning of Steve Jobs ought to be shot for their lack of sensitivity. What is wrong with the outpouring of grief over a revolutionary inventor and respected businessman for his immense contributions to society? Of course, thousands of people die daily, many of which are senseless. Deaths are inevitable and we were born to die. What made his death different from other deaths was that he was an icon, an inspiration to millions of computer geeks and aspriring entrepreneurs. He was courageous. He dared to be different. People may not have a personal connection to him but the emotional connection that a user has with his or her I-Phone / I-Pad / I-Pod may well translate into a personal connection with the inventor himself.

We acknowledge his death and we celebrate his life. Why is this frowned upon by naysayers who critisize that we are over the top with our sentimentality and expressions of grief? Say I meet a friend who's relative has died, would I not say "Sorry to hear about your loss"? My hypothetical friend and his or her relative who died is unknown to me, so should I not extend my condolences? Is this hypocritical? Am I demeaning and belittling the deaths of other people? As if implying that their deaths are not as important?

All these negative people should get a life. They are probably just jealous of Steve Jobs and the fact that when they do die, their passing will never generate such an enormous amount of attention. Changing the world and the way we live is no easy feat. Recognition should be given when it's due. He makes us believe that with determination and imagination, the possibilities are infinite. And that creation of hope itself is trully more profound and life changing than any of his inventions.