Ready to Die

Now I will probably throw quite a few people off with this declaration but it needs to be taken in context. So please reserve judgement until you have read the entire post. Thank you.

When I was a teenager I remember that I used to write some pretty dark poetry. I was convinced that I would die early. I think I was trying to rebel against the stereotype that teenagers think they are invincible. I never had those thoughts. But I do remember thinking that if I died it wouldn’t be such a big deal. I thought that I was ready to die. That’s not to say that I wanted to die. I didn’t harbour any thoughts of harming myself, not serious thoughts anyway.

Now several years removed from being a teenager, I have rethought my philosophy and I think that I can still make this declaration. I am ready to die.

I don’t know if I can explain it fully. Suffice it to say that I have lived a full life thus far. I have gone after my dreams. I tried to get a music career going by investing a lot of time and money into it. It didn’t really work but it was something that I had to try. It was a dream that I tried to realize and it felt great while it lasted.

I have had the opportunity to do a lot of things that many people my age never have. I have given hundreds of hours to volunteering. I have tried to make the world a better place by being involved in my community. I was even able to win a Community Contribution Award in university. It was a great honour.

I don’t have the time or the desire to run through my life story but it is interesting and I’m not ashamed of it at all. I have lived a good life. I have done a lot of things that are noteworthy and that I can be proud of. I can look back and say that I have no regrets.

As such, I can say that I am ready to die. I think I’ve made a difference in the world in however a small way. If my time were to expire anytime soon, I would be at peace. That is what I mean by Ready to Die.


5 responses to “Ready to Die”

  1. That’s a good way to put it I guess. If you lived your life to the fullest why would want to end now while you still have some years ahead of you. But I do understand what you are saying. It’s way to hot out here I’m ready to pass out right now!!

  2. It all depends on what standard you use to measure your life achievements.

    Human standards… are like waves.

  3. Chase, I think you still have much to pass on to future generations, and the kids in your class. Don’t you think you want to experience more in your life than what you already have? S

  4. Hi Chase,

    When I first started blogging, finding a blog that talked of death and dying was nearly impossible. Now I’m seeing more bloggers addressing this subject, and rightly so. No one leaves here alive.

    I do think by assessing what we have done in life and knowing we have already made a difference in the world does make easier to say “yes I am ready to die”.

    It’s when the subject comes up and you realize you haven’t fulfilled any of your dreams that you take a step back and answer the opposite.

  5. Thanks for all the comments!

    There are still things that I want to do and experience in this life. I think my philosophy here is that you need to be happy with where you are at in life. You can’t always look towards the future. I like to live in the present. I don’t worry about the past so I can truly say that I don’t have regrets. And I don’t worry about what I might do in the future. Right now, everything is pretty cool. That’s why I can say I’m ready.

    But we are never really ready for anything. I would still probably put up a fight if death came calling because of all the things you mentioned Silverfish.