There is something very raw about the death of a human .. Very emotional, very real. When you’re up close, often in the presence of someone who lose the final battle to whatever ailment or frailty making the suffer, the heavy weight is apparent.. Even those who don’t subscribe to a higher power battle deep questions within.. I think we all wish the soul travels to a better place. Some of us have faith that it does. Others don’t. The rest of us simply don’t know–even though we read warnings that the light is  trick and trap, we all tend to gravitate towards it anyway, according to accounts of near death activities..

But there is one type of death that is a little more weighty.. a little more sad.. a little more real.

So many people who succumb to the end are scared to go.. They often are aided by hospice workers or family in the final moments, almost with some persuading them to go down that path to the tunnel of light in the distance.. Other people are fully ready to go. They exist in their final moments between the here and the there, the veil is thin and they happily travel between two realities. Whether the brain is tricking us into thinking there is something more or there really is, some people seem profoundly ready to find that answer..

There are some people, though, frail and losing a battle with endless pain.. fighting like hell to stay alive. But why, we would ask? Wouldn’t they realize that the lack of pain on ‘the other side’ or six feet under is much better a result than the one they are suffering through?
Maybe it’s not.
Maybe, for them, staying alive is very personal.

Many people want to live to see family be welcomed into the world, or see a son or daughter graduate. They want to see the conclusion to a mission.. or hell, maybe even a movie premiere that they’ve been waiting for all of their lives.

Because no matter the pain and misfortune on this planet, there are still some good days. The silver lining, perhaps.. or the tree growing green in the middle of a vast wasteland. Signs of hope always abound.. even if the planet loses all of its humans through some epic shedding of blood, life will be born over again. New life.. amazing life..

And some out there who are meeting the maker just want to stick around.. a few more hours, sometimes, until family gets there to say goodbye. Or a few more days, sometimes.. or months. Or maybe even longer, if they could choose to stick around.

The desire to stay alive is not necessarily a narcissistic endeavor. It’s a human trait. We fight to survive, always.  Even as the body dies, the brain sends a wave of chemicals through the body in one last attempt to just breathe and keep a heart beating.

At this point–we think–there’s no way to stick around forever. We can edge closer to the cure to death, or perhaps buy some time with medical marvels.. but the body still dies.

Right now, there’s a chance that you are seeing someone die who does not want to.
I am.
And it’s an incredibly painful thing to see.. knowing that they see the ending of a book and simply yearn for one last chapter..