Do you fear your own mortality?

Do you fear your own mortality? Is your geatest fear not fear its self, but passing into the darkness? Why do you fear it? Is it because you don't know what happens after your physical heart stops beating? Is it because you think you know, and for some reason it scares you? Is it because you think your going to a place of damnation and punishment?

Or do you not fear death? Do you look ol' grim in the face and laugh? Why would you not be afraid of something so mysterious, as is human nature. Is it because you don't fear what's on the other side? Is it because you don't believe there is another side? Or is it because you think you're going to a place of bliss, happiness, and peace?

I myself have a fear of death. I don't know what's on the other side. I can theorize all I want, and I can believe whatever I want, but the fact is that I simply do not know. I do not know if there even is another side. Yes, I have given into basic human nature in this part, fearing what I do not know. But what about you?

Please, people. Give me your oppinions. Tell me whether you fear the cold, shadowy abyss or not. Give me your reasoning. If is something you would not like to share with everyone, then you can PM me. If it is something you would not like to share with anyone, then don't feel any obligation to.

The reason I am posing this question is because I am writing an essay. This essay is not for school, but to help me get a better understanding of human belief and human nature.

Any and all oppinions are welcome. Thank you!

Actually I believe I would fear immortality more than mortality. Not unless the body stayed around 25 years old in function and form, anyway.

But talking about mortality and immortality has to touch on religion in one fashion or another. And this is where things get hazy to me. You hear mention of the "immortal soul". Well that presents a dilemma in trying to grasp that concept. If you assume the soul is a discrete embodiment of *something*, then how does that work? Certainly there are more people on this planet then say 2,000 years ago, so was there a surplus of unattached souls waiting for bodies at that time? If so, how many of them were created originally and are still waiting for bodies to inhabit? What do those souls DO waiting for a body even today? Was enough of them made? Because on the other hand, if that number gets exceeded, what happens then to the bodies that get born but no available soul around?

So would immortality be more or less boring without a body than with one?

As for a fear of dying? Heck, I don't think so. Either it will be like switching off a light and I will just be gone, or it will be the start of a new adventure.

Know what scares me more than death? Reincarnation............ I would be thinking, "Oh NO!! NOT AGAIN!!!"..........

Im not so much afraid of dying as i am losing my consciousness. I like KNOWING what is going on around me, what is happening to me, the fact that when im dead.... means im dead... well, my mind just dosnt want to let that happen!

I dont believe in any religion, and i dont believe there is some happy place that i go to when i die. The ME im speaking of, is just electrical signals being sent back and forth by a machine not even we understand fully. Once the battery dies, so to speak, well... *I* cease.
I think that when im dead, i turn back into the basic elements that I am made of, and get recycled by good old mother earth. Im fine with that... really... its just the... not knowing part, that bugs the crap out of me.

What will my funeral be like? i wonder..... I do not like not knowing.

I hold no fear of death...though, perhaps, that is because I have not been close enough to my own to realize it. For years now, I have made it known that, should something happen, I don't want to be saved. (Funny how that decision is respected in the elderly, but garners argument for a man in his 20s or 30s.)
I was raised a Christian, and attended a Catholic school prior to high school (though I am not Catholic). Great beliefs, if you have the faith. Quite frankly, I'm not sure what my beliefs are. I don't want to drag this any further into a religious discussion, so I'll drop it - with the comment that not knowing doesn't cause any angst for me.
I'm fairly surprised to find myself alive at the age of 42...but I've accepted that I'm not lucky enough to have this ride end early. Last year, I saw my retirement accounts lose approximately 1/3 their value. Ouch. So much for the idea of cutting back on my work hours and trying to enjoy life .
Contrary to what was once popular belief, I don't have a death wish...actually, I'm reasonably happy with my life. BUT, if I were to find myself facing two paths/doors tomorrow, and had the decision of continuing life or having it end...(for the first time) I'm not sure which I would choose.
My greatest worry, if I were to suddenly find myself facing death, would not be what happens next - it would be "who's going to take care of my dogs?"

Not fearing death and not wanting to die are two different things. I don't want to die because I enjoy life (for the most part) but I'm not scared of death either.

When I was 16, I was riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle that was carjacked at gunpoint. I rode in that car for several miles with a gun to my head, and it was then that I realized that we can go pretty much anytime, anywhere, and I stopped being afraid of the inevitable.

I'm not afraid. I've lived a good life, tried to be a good person, and had more than my share of remarkable experiences. I don't worry about what I might be "losing" by not being alive any more. I've faced my own mortality with a gun in my face, and at that moment I can't say I wished that I had done less or more of something.
Like hhmoore, I'd be concerned about any pain or unhappiness my family, friends, and partner (not to mention critters) might go through without me, but the fear of death is gone for me.

Thank yo for your posts everyone! If anyone else wants to jump in, please do!!!

I myself have had to face my mortality twice already. It was after the first time I became inwardly obssessed with death while outwardly becoming a most sociable person. I felt that I needed to know exactly what happened after you die, and I also felt that I needed to live life to the fullest. So I had alot of fun, did alot of research.... then the second time I looked ol' grim in the face I realized that it didn't matter. For a while, I didn't care. Then a series of deaths of friends and family made me scared.... A few of them were very wicked people, and a few of them were great. Perhapds, over time and with age I will learn not to fear death.

Originally Posted by hhmoore

I hold no fear of death...though, perhaps, that is because I have not been close enough to my own to realize it.

That was a pretty silly statement, considering my history. Memories fade, I guess. (At least only a couple of my "almosts" involved any form of 3rd party violence...and those were attributable to stupid friends)

No.
Short answer.
I don't fear death, I think I look forward to the end to my struggles one day. I won't seek death, am not suicidal, but I don't fear an end. I've prepared for death, made a will, to make sure my pets are cared for, etc. The only thing that bothers me is wondering how the pets will do.
I don't have a belief that there is a good place to go to after you die, particularly. If you're reborn, well.. maybe-so. If there's a hell, well, okay. I really don't worry overmuch. I live my life according to my own morals, and try to help those that need/deserve help, and on a rare occasion, try to give karma a little push.

[F]I completely understand why you would fear death, simply because you do not know whats on the other side (if there is an other side) but me on the other hand i do not fear it simply because i cannot let myself fear what i do not know. And for 'Near Death Experiences' i will not say i don't believe in them, but every account of a NDE i've heard of are all the same. So therefor i wonder.[/font]