Death Wishlist
Friday, October 13th, 2006Death
Wishlist
Whenever I
walk past a funeral, I can’t help but imagine how it would be like to have my
picture there and having friends and relatives coming to pay their respects.
Who will moan my passing? Who can’t wait to see me buried? How does it feel to
see this body lying in the coffin? After all, this body that I’m in currently
is likely the makeup of my past karma that determined certain conditions that I
am in. I probably had died many times over (yes, I believe in reincarnation).
There is no eternal permanent self. The eternal self or soul, “I”, does not
exist. (well, this topic of “non-self” shall be discussed in another time) .
When the time is up, this body expires, and off to the next adventure I go,
according to my karma.
Let’s face
it, death is inevitable. The question is when and how. How will I die? Let’s
look at a few possible death scenarios.
Scenario 1:
Freak accident
Imagine as
I walk out of the void deck and a killer litter in the shape of a flower pot
lands on my head. Death comes swift and clean. Instantaneous. I suddenly find
this body lying in a pool of blood. Ok, I will go wtf happened! Who the fuck
dropped this on me?! This is quite an embarrassing exit.
Scenario 2:
Old Age
Frail,
immobile, stricken with organs failure, I go away peacefully in my sleep.
Almost ideal except for the painful slow body malfunctions along the way.
Scenario 3:
Murder by mistake
Stabbed in
the back by a drunkard, I bleed to death as I lay helplessly on cold empty
streets. If I had just found the love of my life and then got murdered by
mistake after I sent her home, this will be one sweet death that I will cherish
for a long time. I hope my karma is not this bad for such an exit.
Scenario 4:
Automobile Accident
I escaped
this in May. I’ve seen horrible automobile accidents pictures where the body
got disfigured beyond recognition. Not a pretty way to leave.
The
scenarios are endless. You will never know how you will make your grand exit
until it happens. Many people have such paralyzing fear for death that it prevents
them from truly living. Truly living, of course, is defined by each
individual’s definition of happiness. What gives them joy and happiness? Death
should spur living fully because it makes you realize how short life is and not
to get too caught up with human social constructions and ego.
I will not
know how I will die, but I know how I want to live. There are many things I
wish to do before the curtains come down. Let me make my death wishlist right
here, right now. In no particular order:
- Watch bjork sing live!
- Catch U2 live in concert!
- Backpack South America a la Motorcycle Diaries and see Machu Picchu
- Open a jazz joint with live jazz band and dj setup
- Backpack Tibet (fulfilling soon!)
- Backpack Spain and party in Ibiza
- Attend Sonar
- Attend Fuji Rock Concert
- Watch Man Utd play in Old Trafford
- Watch the World Cup Final in the stadium
- Get a French or polish girlfriend (ha!)
- Start a charitable foundation to alleviate suffering
- Learn an instrument and busk in Europe
- DJ for an hour set
- Become a monk
- Attain Enlightenment (unlikely in this lifetime I think)
At this
point, this is the wishlist. I believe it will change as time goes by and
perspectives shift. However, I don’t think it will change that much, only more
things to add for my craving heart.
Let’s see how many I can fulfill in this
lifetime.
