schu

Well said SpacedOut. I guess you mean by having been given life that your dad's sperm fertilized your mom's egg. If not, I stand corrected. I like to tell people that I am a product of a natural universe which was my creator. No magic required.

Seems to me that being dead will be just like it was before I was born. Nothing to be afraid of there.

NonHomogenized

Fear death? Not particularly.

I'm not in any great hurry to die, and, indeed, I will do my best to not die any time in the near future. There is a lot I'd like to accomplish before I die, but that doesn't mean I'm scared to die.
There are some methods of dying I'd really prefer to avoid, mostly ones which are slow, painful, and don't do anyone any good.
Optimally, I'd live a long, productive life, accomplishing many of the things I want to, and then accomplish something I consider meaningful with my death.

Hmmm... I seem to have gotten a bit sidetracked.

Spaz

I don't fear death, I'd like to live a long time, but I don't fear it. I agree a painful death wouldn't be cool, but after I'm dead I won't know anything anyway.

Supergirl

No. How can anybody have fear for something they can not know?

I do not want to be in pain in the process. Now that I fear because I am really a pis$y when it come to pain and tolerance of pain

triplew00t

1) I greatly fear death, but then, I am a hypochondriac with anxiety disorders.

2) Because

A) I sometimes worry that I am wrong, and I'll meet a pissed off God,

B) I dread an eternity of existance, if I am wrong. Eventually I would run out of things to do (ala Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"),

C) I fear a slow, painful, fearful death, instead of one that comes before I even know that I am dying,

D) I fear the unknown: what it is like to not exist (as paradoxical as that is to the rational mind).

-In peace, Nero

"What is the good? That which heightens the feeling of power in man, the will to power, power itself. What is bad? All that is born of weakness" - Nietzsche

Zora

I always have a hundred more things planned to do than I have time for...so I don't think fear is the proper way to describe my attitude toward my own death. If I were to be told I was "terminal" I think I would have time to resign myself to the process of dying. (Though I'd be pretty pissed, I'm sure.)

The good thing about dying, no matter how awful it is at the time, its only for a specific period of time...and you only have to do it once.

Now, if I could just be sure my husband wouldn't remarry somebody half my age who would redecorate my house.....I'd be at peace with the whole concept.

Debbie T

There was a moment in time when I thought I was going to die and I faced it with no fear. It was like going through slow motion, my brain slowed down and I felt utter calm through the experience. So no I do not have fear of it even when I actually thought it was going to happen. It was amazing to notice the process I went through.

I fear more about being in horrible pain and being forced to linger in this world after all hope of living is gone.

I would however like to die in my sleep, rather than a horrible accident or some such event.

When I was a Christian I was terrified of death. Seems strange that I have no fear as a non compared to when I was a Christian. That seems to be a tough one Christians can't or won't answer.

atheist_in_foxhole

I fear dying, but not death. After all, I was non-existant for billions of years before I was born and it wasn't so bad.

I am, however, VERY jealous of future generations that will have the incredible opportunity to explore our universe (visiting other solar systems, galaxies etc.) and finally get off this rock. I can hardly imagine how amazing that will be. I get kind of depressed when I think about all the neat stuff I'll never see.

But then I think about how lucky I was to have even been born in the first place and I feel a lot better.

diana

I don't fear death. I can't even say I fear dying. I've been in pain before and will be again. Pain is part of life. I don't like it (except sometimes, but that's another thread), but I don't fear it. I may be deluded, but I suspect the pain leading to death, if such there must be, will be less than much of the pain I've lived to tell about. If not, I'd say pain would, if anything, make me welcome the sweet oblivion of death with open arms.

I use my realization of death to remind me that my life has a deadline, and that I'm a fool to squander my time. This simple thought helps ground me. When I walk the dog, for instance, I can think about my concerns at work and disagreements I'm having with my family...or I can think about what a handsome mutt he is, how much he loves me and is happy I'm taking a few minutes to walk him, and how nice the sunshine feels.

I often think death is to thank for many (most?) of the achievements in human history. I know when I have all day to do something, I never seem to get around to it, but when I have twenty minutes to make it happen, I get it done. I think life works the same way, but on a larger scale.

Fear death? Nah. Use it.

d

MollyMac

I don't fear it and sometimes I feel so bored I look forward to it.