This is a crucial question today! Thanks for posting this.

Death is an inevitability. While intellectually all would agree with this, far too few have absorbed the resulting reality in their emotional response. We. Are. Going. To. Die. You. Are. Going. To. Die.

Those of us who have given a lot of thought to this issue are often accused of being morbid. But the fact of death does not require a reaction of morbid thinking. Having become quite explicitly aware of death and illness, I no longer worry about it or fear it. When I am sick, I am sick. When I am healthy, I am healthy. And when I die, I will be dead. None of these are "negative" things. They are woven into the fabric of reality. So I wake up and drink a cup of tea. I don't fear that either. There is no fundamental difference between drinking a cup of tea and dying. Both are events that occur. Also, please note that what is true for me individually is also true for those around me whom I love. They are going to die as well. Will I be sad about that? Of course. But my sadness is - again - part of the picture. This is what life is. Let's live it!

This question is of course critical in this time of pandemic. The fundamental foundation of the fear of the pandemic is rooted in the fear of death. This is the true tragedy. Because this fear changes very little. Those who fear to die will fear to die today, but they will also fear to die ten years from now. That fear is not going to change if life is extended longer. So we "save" lives, when the response to death is going to be equally tragic (from the perspective of she/he who fears it) whenever it occurs. What's improved?

So I say this is the true tragedy, because what people are doing is wasting this miraculous opportunity we have to be alive in fearing the death that is a natural part of the whole event. Rather than taking advantage of our time in this mysterious game we call life to do all the things we can think of, a crowd decision has been reached to spend this time cowering in fear of an event that cannot be stopped. It is the insanity of obsession harnessed in the pursuit of futility.

Live. Go out and live. Don't worry about this virus. If it gets me, it'll get me. If it doesn't, I will continue to live on looking for more new passions and relationships to try and to enjoy. This is the result of a true absorption that we are going to die.

Not morbidity; rather the ability to use our limited time here as efficiently as possible, not waste it wailing against what will not and should not change.