What is Death and how can it change your life? Part I of IV

A typical Sunday morning, I head out to the woods to take my dog, Ed, for a walk. For whatever reason, this particular morning in early October had a different feel to it. As the rising sun pushed through the treetops and made its way to the yellow leaves that blanketed the trail in front of me, an aura of magnificence radiated through the woods. The sun’s rays bounced off those golden leaves, engulfing the forest in an amber flame. The light shimmering off of the lucky leaves that were still clinging to their branches for at least one more day of life. All of my senses tingled as the sun’s warmth created that unmistakable autumn aroma, the crisp air cooled my cheeks and the sound of the river, swollen from all of the recent rainfall, drowned out the sounds of civilization that were only a stone’s throw away. In a word, it was beautiful. But in another, equally apt but perhaps far less palatable word, it was death.

The days get shorter and the chlorophyll (the chemical that gives leaves their green color) production is slowly driven to a halt. During this process, the leaf admirably donates any vital nutrients and minerals it has harnessed over the summer months back to the tree for storage in the roots. The leaf is ultimately strangled to death, transforming its colors along the way, and drops delicately to the floor to continue its place in the life cycle, where it will insulate the roots of the tree from frost and ultimately break down and serve as fertilizer for the tree.

All this to say that we as humans find this sequence of death to be quite beautiful. Millions of people take to the roads and to the trails every year to marvel at this wonderful natural phenomenon that produces awe inspiring landscapes and breathtaking views. This annual process is one that we recognize as being a necessary part of life, and it is also one that is nearly universally thought to be enchanting. It is much harder to take this view and apply it to human life and death, but it is not all that different.

Death, quite obviously, is simply defined as “the end of life.” The definition of “life” is much more complex than you might have imagined, so we won’t get into that here.

The purpose of this series is to deliberately unpack what it means to die and what impact death, and the process of dying, has on both the deceased and the survivors. Once the idea of death is approached with this sort of care, we can move on to understand how changing our relationship with death can materially improve the way we live.

The example of autumn is a perfect illustration, I think, of how life and death are perpetually intertwined. The leaves live a life full of purpose as they perform vital functions key to the health of the tree. And as their time approaches, they die with valor and honor, not with fear, anxiety or regret. In death, they continue to serve those they have left behind and the entire process of death is a thing of natural beauty and majesty. This, I contend, is how we should live and die. The human condition is obviously far different than that of the tree and the leaves. We are sentient beings with a conscience. We have relationships and feelings, and perhaps there is a meta-physical side to our existence, consisting of a soul and an afterlife. I grant you all of that, but there is no reason why we can’t live a meaningful life and die an honorable and beautiful death, just like those leaves that come and go every year.