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Captain...or Skully
climber
in the oil patch...Fricken Bakken, that's where
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 1, 2014 - 09:14pm PT
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It's inevitable....All I ever hear is Denial. I've been close a couple times. Several folk close to me have chosen such a thing. Let's discuss the threshold from which there is no return. Or not.
Surprise me.....this board often does that.
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MisterE
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
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Death is my friend - I welcome it willingly but not through my own hand. Ever.
Dylan Thomas put it well:
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
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Fear of not seeing your family again and missing out on fun...
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Captain...or Skully
climber
in the oil patch...Fricken Bakken, that's where
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 1, 2014 - 09:27pm PT
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Or do you at all?
That's another question altogether, is it not? or is it?
Talk is cheap.....Whiskey will cost ya.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
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Cosmic...Fear not....There's always the Zombie after-life..Come to my door i blow your head off...rj
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MisterE
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
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^^That's why if I wasn't so damn satisfied with my life, I would totally be a haunter!
;)
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Gorgeous George
Trad climber
Los Angeles, California
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I'm not sure they have sex in heaven.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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I'm not sure they have sex in heaven.
I could live with that as long as they don't have dentists.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
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Raawwk..Cosmy want some cosmotology..? Raawwwk...
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Captain...or Skully
climber
in the oil patch...Fricken Bakken, that's where
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 1, 2014 - 09:48pm PT
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Life hurts, Mr. Ron. We know naught else.
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Fear death, why?
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet : On Death
Than Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."
And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the sheered not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
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rick sumner
Trad climber
reno, nevada/ wasilla alaska
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There will be a period of darkness, or one will see the light , or transition quickly or slowly, or none of the above. Regardless ,there has never been anyone expressing regret after completing their life journey. After witnessing the last breaths of a number of loved ones I cant see fearing the result, just the process.
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MisterE
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
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Regardless ,there has never been anyone expressing regret after completing their life journey.
Sorry to disagree Rick - but Hitler may have some afterlife regrets...if the universe is just.
Which it may not be...so you may be right.
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ruppell
climber
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And the mercy seat is glowing
And I think my head is smoking
And in a way I'm hopin'
to be done with all these looks of disbelief.
A life for a life
And a truth for a truth
And I've got nothin' left to loose.
And I'm not afraid to die
And the mercy seat is smoking
And I think my head is melting
And in a way that's helpin'
to be done with all this twistin' of the truth
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And any way I told the truth
But I'm afraid I told a lie.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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nah000
climber
canuckistan
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death, itself... not the main issue...
continuing to live while having lost major parts of my own autonomy... that is what i fear...
which, if i'm truly not afraid of death, is pretty absurd... haha...
thanks for the question...
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Denial is a river in Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and points south, though it runs to the north.
The Ganges is a charnel house in India.
Denali is a mountain in Alaska and has killed more than a few climbers.
A recent study found that women who carry a little extra weight live longer than the men who mention it.
It's how Gibran met his maker, according to Urban Legend, who lives in a van parked down by the East River in NYC.
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Carson City, NV
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I don't. I fear getting too old and crippled to finish like I want. Death would be preferable.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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The problem I have with Death is that it is so imposing.
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WBraun
climber
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Death is God and is absolute.
But the soul, the real you, never dies and transmigrates to wherever your consciousness at the time of your last breath is at ......
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Sport climber
moving thru
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An interesting question posed here....thanks for asking.
And, OBTW, it's wonderful to be back in "communication land" tho I sorely miss my pure air at 10,000 feet and the shimmering, gold and yellow of the fall in my favorite Sierra.
I used to fear death when I was the Mom of 4 kiddos which I think is one of the reasons I did not climb much with my husband. One of us needed to live to raise the brood. But now the kids are raised. Six years ago I watched my husband die slowly for 30 days, and there is nothing to fear anymore. Jesus is my best friend and the rest is history.
So now, instead of thinking about death and dying, I focus on going to sleep each night with a smile and a prayer for many on my lips. And when my eyes open in the morning I smile again and thank God for one more day to view the glorious planet and to love the people that come across my path.....for this one day.
For that is all we have. This one day. Treasure it and those around you.
Peace and glad to be back on the Taco. Love, lynnie
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rick sumner
Trad climber
reno, nevada/ wasilla alaska
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Interesting idea Werner. Is this idea your own or of a religion or discipline you practice? I tried to steer conversation to the loved ones happiest days during their last waking hours. My thinking at the time was that those last thoughts might well be expansive, independent of time or this physical world we percieve.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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As I said to you at Facelift, dear Lynnie, there is no fear in you when it counts. Bless you for your faith and your practicing of what you believe.
I find this inspiring.
Death is like changing from a dirty diaper to a clean one, possibly, as Werner's idea and the ideas of post-life in general indicate.
Punishment should not be a part of it, for I'm certtain that this is where much of our fear of dying comes in.
Fear of pain is not fear of death. Death is surcease from pain for many of us, whether of physical or emotional pain.
If God were a legislative body, and if we were meant to be punished for screwing up in life, we might be stuck with a three-strike rule.
Or sumthin.
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Sport climber
moving thru
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Hey, Werner
Missed you in the Valley at FL.
Is Death God? I think God encompasses death but death is not the entirety of God. I was going to agree with you that death is absolute, but then I thought, well maybe not if I believe in life after death, which I do.
Death would be absolute to a human body dying, but not to the soul/spirit they are comprised of. That would live on. That is, just of course, my humble opinion. Cheers, lynne
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WBraun
climber
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Death is Absolute therefore it's an attribute of God.
Since its absolute therefor death is God.
God is Time and no one can ever defeat Time.
Death on this material plane is desolation of ones material body.
But we are not the body .......
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coolrockclimberguy69
climber
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We may not ever be bounce proof, but if we do "go in" we should endeavor to make it a striking death. A death that leaves our friends and family knowing that we flamed away forerunning the limit of the human experience after preparing in every possible way to do so. Be hard on your motivations: they are the only thing that separates being remembered as adventurous from foolhardy.
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Carson City, NV
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Yes. Yes yes yes yes!
Thanks Werner.
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Sport climber
moving thru
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A good conversation as well as intriguing thought material, Werner. I do agree that the physical body is not the entirety of who we are. We are much more. Hence the discussions of many philosophies over time that when the physical body dies there could be more than just the death of the body. What about the spirit/soul....whatever...... ?
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
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everybody i thought was cool is 6 feet underground,
therefore this life is death, and death will be a new life,
where i can take that first toke and listen to all along the watchtower by hendrix and kiss 14 year old girls and cop my first feel,
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rick sumner
Trad climber
reno, nevada/ wasilla alaska
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Thanks for further explanation of the absolutes of your beliefs Werner. Was your path to this state of understanding solo FA or assisted by beta on an established route?
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Gal
Trad climber
going big air to fakie
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I have to say, I started to fear death when I was 5. I fear it because the idea of not existing anymore is terrifying. To all those who say they don't fear it, I have to call bs. because on your deathbed I think you will be scared. Why will you be scared? because nobody, not the scientists nor the religious, know what really happens when we die - cuz if you're reading this, you ain't dead - so I KNOW YOU DON"T KNOW. So I guess I'm scared of the unknown, and never existing again. If i have my soulmate by my side when it happens, and we are holding hands at the time, at least I know I'll go into some other state very happy. We decided when we're super old, like 80, we are going to get face tattoos, do a huge pile of cocaine, and base jump, then see where we're at lol!
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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I had similar fears as Gal when I was young. I'd think of the big zero, a void, the nothing, eternity and it would scare me. Now what scares me is the process of getting to the finish line. The fact is if we live long enough we bury most of our loved ones and life friends as we slowly give up the things that gave us so much joy as our bodies fail and fall apart. I've accepted my death as being a natural piece of life, my apprehension is entirely focused on just how those last remaining days, weeks, months or years play out. I was once told by a wise old man, "try not to live so long" as he suffered through his remaining days I realized the last great gift of life is death.
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TwistedCrank
climber
Released into general population, Idaho
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A good Klingon friend of mine once said:
He died well.
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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We atheists only get one shot.
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Psilocyborg
climber
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^^ what wb said
There are many things in life worse than death
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Norwegian
Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
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some people really love being alive.
me, i think it's just o.k.
life is just an awkward pause in the journey.
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MH2
climber
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I dunno. I guess most of my ancestors who didn't fear death got weeded out.
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Mike Friedrichs
Sport climber
City of Salt
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I'm not afraid of death. I just don't want to be there when it happens
Woody Allen
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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I have no fear of death. As long as it comes quickly.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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It's not my line, but someone said
"I'm not the least bit afraid of being dead, it's the transition which concerns me."
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Roots
Mountain climber
Tustin, CA
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I remember a quote from a an Iraqi farmer. He was asked if was worried about dying during the 2nd time the US invaded:
"We do not fear death, it only comes once"
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Captain...or Skully
climber
in the oil patch...Fricken Bakken, that's where
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 2, 2014 - 08:08am PT
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Some interesting replies, assuredly.
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nah000
climber
canuckistan
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MH2: thanks for a truth based chuckle.
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John M
climber
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So the thread indicates many of you fear not the death.. FUNNY,, since you are the ones that when faced with a spooky move, or pitch, decide to BAIL!
What is it you feared there ,, again??
Whats funny about it Ron? What I fear is being paralyzed or so broken that I can't take care of myself.
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, or In What Time Zone Am I?
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I think there is a difference between intellectually/emotionally "fearing or not" death and the body's reaction to imminent death when in a seriously compromised situation. While I don't believe I am afraid to die (prefer it not be messy or prolonged) I suspect my body would react in a life saving manner if I were to be in a crashing plane, sketchy climb or event.
When I was on chemo and in some support groups there were women who were terminal and just didn't want to prolong the sucky quality of life by continuing chemo when all they were buying was a few more agonizing months. They knew, and chose, to die. Were they afraid and anxious? Yes to a certain degree but overall they came to a peace about bringing it to a close. I think that is the state that most people want to be in when facing natural death either from old age or a lingering illness.
So while one may not emotionally or intellectually be afraid of death, they hopefully aren't stupid enough to bring it on by their own careless actions. Not being afraid of death is vastly different than thinking you suddenly have a license to be stupid.
Susan
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blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
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I dunno. I guess most of my ancestors who didn't fear death got weeded out.
Your ancestors who did fear death got weeded out too. If you're talking about your ancestors, obviously they reproduced, whether they feared death or not.
Maybe you meant to say something like: "my ancestors likely feared death, which enabled them to stay alive long enough to reproduce, and I beleive that is a heritable trait?"
Just trying to add a little coherence here.
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dave729
Trad climber
Western America
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Lets get this right.
When climbing we must not fear death yet also maintain a keen situational
awareness of how the slightest mistake will lead to death in the next few seconds.
You'd have to be crazy to want to be cured of this hobby by going to a shrink. Catch22.
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John M
climber
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Great post Susan..
Of course on some level I fear death. I have certainly fought very hard to stay alive the few times it stared me in the face. When I say I don't fear death, it has more to do with the aftermath, and perhaps with a certain amount of feeling tired of my current status.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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+1 to Susuan.
Death is change.
Change is stressful.
Stress without time to adjust to it is scary.
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jstan
climber
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At Facelift I experienced a feeling new to me. In the next campsite a singer guitarist performed a love song for life that caused me to think
that's the only bad thing about death. I won't get to hear such beautiful things any more.
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Norwegian
Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
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oohhhh.
let's entertain death!
bring on every gawdamn literary
cliche that has been
or hopes to be.
f*#k beyond between the breasts.
she is a she
and i'm partial,
but far from sexist.
there i was.
and beyond beckoned.
who among us wields the discipline
to deny the siren's call?
not me.
daily,
i am in and out of death.
it ain't no big deal.
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Norwegian
Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
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command death.
sprinkle it upon life
as necessary.
it really ain't an ultimatum;
more of an ongoing relation.
then when i arrive at
a threshold,
i am duly trained.
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Evel
Trad climber
Nedsterdam CO
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I don't.
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Cragar
climber
MSLA - MT
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A fear of the death of society that is not a physical but intellectual matter is a fear I have, or rather disappointment in humans. Shoot, I might be in the wrong clinic?
The walking/living dead is fearful, good old death is inevitable!
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MisterE
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
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If you are lucky enough to live to the point where old age and degradation of the physical self occurs with ever-increasing rapidity, I tell you this:
At least the pain will end.
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Anastasia
climber
Home
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When you are faced with your mortality knowing death is holding your number, knows you by name... It's a cold bleak place and so very, very final. Of coarse it is scary. All the theories of the after life, all the religious ideology sometimes feels so paper thin. You want solid answers and they come in the form of faith in this world of science... I do prefer my science and science doesn't give comforting answers about death.
I myself am facing my nemesis again and... Eventually it will get the final shot. It's an interesting place to stand facing that. All I know is we all are survivors of a million chances of losing our lives that somehow didn't happen "today." Yet we all die... We all will walk that road and... We all will find out.
I might make my peace with death, I might even become ready and accept my fate... Yet unafraid... No, I will simply be accepting my fear as part of letting go. In the end it is what it is and there is no escaping it.
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Death is just a transition most people would rather forget.
But those with a high enough responsibility will walk forward into the new life again.
Because "I" never dies.
There are those who believe this, and those who know it, because they can remember.
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snowhazed
Trad climber
Oaksterdam, CA
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I don't fear my own death.
I sometimes fear the deaths of my loved ones.
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j-tree
Big Wall climber
Typewriters and Ledges
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I don't fear my own death. I do fear dying in a painful and protracted manner.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Yet unafraid... No, I will simply be accepting my fear as part of letting go. In the end it is what it is and there is no escaping it.
This rings strongly true for me, and is reminiscent of what I experienced in the first heartbeat of a big fall. The next heartbeat or two were just quietly waiting.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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I don't fear death. By the time I get to that point in my life, I'll probably welcome the break. What I fear is a too busy life without time for reflection or enjoyment.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Death fears me.
Ahh, well, I am in no hurry to die, would like to hang with the family and friends for a while.
I am the most interesting man in the world......next to Norwegian.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, scseagoat and lynne... very nice posts there, thanks for sharing... and gal, too... and anastasia...i can understand those...
very interesting question, too, skully...
i will think on this, and see i can find words, to share on this too...
i've thought or seen this questions from so many angles, and from so many different experiences and shares from friends, etc, and all that they have g one through, too, it is hard to really explain in 'one lump sum' :)
i remember what one of my brothers (not chappy) once said, very recently,
as to these 'terminal things, as to death, etc, and certain turns of events'
"it is what it is"
and of course, for folks not "knowing what all this 'is what it is' entails"
this is where folks and their feelings about it, and fears or non-fears,
come into play...
most things, you can see the facts, if you study up:
like: what happens if your are pregnant and going to have a baby...
or like: what happens if you plant seeds, etc...
or what happens if you add up a sum a numbers...
but so many more things come into play, with death... many hows, wheres... timings... saves... accidents... carelessness... unavoidable... slow long time... split second... that:
folks may not always know WHAT to think...AND THEN, it has happened and it is too late to change anything... finished, here, as to our chance at life, here, as we knew it...
me, for now, as when i had my kids, i just have to let it sit with god, and however the life trail goes, i reckon...
so--sometimes we get startled by 'curve balls', and fear things have gone wrong, as if we've ruined the trail (for us or others) by carelessness, neglect, ignorance, etc...
so then, that would make me fear...
ex: especially with our children--we all fear them running into the street, so we do our utmost to not be negligent... it would "wrongly so"...
(or a tree branch falling before our eyes, when we should have pushed them out of the way)...
however, when things seem to be going the right way, and-- 'it's to be one of those 'it is what it is' things, well, then, i don't fear...
so, to me, i reckon, it is kind of a:
DID WE DO OUR BEST, BEFORE THE TIME COMES and
HAVE WE BEEN JUST, in our life, as to what we leave behind,
as to chores done, and love given?...
that sums the fear or not, to be the answer, for me... :)
and thus, god's peace (for me) is there, in all this,
and god's never failed, as to his peace, being with me, all these years...
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WBraun
climber
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I have studied the thread.
It's unanimous.
Yer all pussies and scared ...... :-)
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, ...
hey there werner, wow, happy good eve to you!
and happy yosemite, to you and merry, too... hugs and god bless!
:)
well, am off to do a project now...
was just checking posts for the end of the eve, now... :)
edit:
well, until after midnight, at least, :))
seems i always end up back here, at spam time, ;)
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KabalaArch
Trad climber
Starlite, California
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Death occurs frequently.
Just once, statistically speaking.
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Death is to be avoided as a "lose" in the game of life.
Loose rocks, rockfall, non-standard gear set-ups, sketchy partners, etc., are things to avoid on account of pain.
Death comes when your number is up. So many people survive close calls over and over. Some people step out the door and get snuffed by a freak accident.
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zBrown
Ice climber
Bruj̣ de la Playa
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Despite what I've hard about it being possible, I've never heard of anyone coming back from there.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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I have studied the thread.
It's unanimous.
Yer all pussies and scared ...... :-)
What if duck soup becomes your reality?
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Despite what I've hard about it being possible, I've never heard of anyone coming back from there.
Jesus zbrown. Where the hell have you been?
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KabalaArch
Trad climber
Starlite, California
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Another commonality which the Board seems to share is a nihilistic outlook.
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Truthdweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA (stuck in Jersey)
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86 posts and one that mentions "god (God)." Amen neebee.
Werner, Lynn... death is not an attribute of God, for goodness sakes. God is everlasting, eternal, forever. Sin = death, "For the wages (what you earn) of sin is death." The father of sin is Satan, hence an "attribute" of his, Hebrews 2:14-15. When Adam & Eve sinned, they died (spiritually), and were cast out of God's eden. Had they not sinned, they wouldn't have died. We are decendants of A&E so we are inherent sinners with a dead spirit. You physically die this way, your soul spends an eternity in the lake of fire, Rev. 20:15. You understand, hence believe, why Jesus Christ came to this earth and what His purpose was, then accept Him into your life, you then are assured of eternal life with your Maker, John 3:16.
Yep, been afraid of death most of my life, but these last seven years has begun to change that, praise God!
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mynameismud
climber
backseat
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It is the final loss of the ultimate game.
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zBrown
Ice climber
Bruj̣ de la Playa
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"Bless your wicked little hearts, sinners"
-Hubert Lindsey
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Truthdweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA (stuck in Jersey)
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"Bless (make happy) your wicked little hearts, sinners."
explain...
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Sport climber
moving thru
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Truthdweller,
Perhaps change your avatar to truthseeker and betterreader. I did not only mention God, but jesus also. I also debated with Werner about death being an attribute of God.....I disagreed. You will be more readily believed if you don't just spew the Word but take time to think about and read others posts.
Yo, I'm FAR from perfect which is why jesus is my best friend. Just some suggestions so others will more readily listen to and think about your comments. Cheers, lynne
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Truthdweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA (stuck in Jersey)
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"...the final loss of the ultimate game."
Contrast:
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow thee all the days of your life (present) and ye shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever (future)" Psalm 23:6.
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Truthdweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA (stuck in Jersey)
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Oops, sorry Lynne, I read you and Werners exchange and missed the mention of "God," Amen. Change the "86 posts" and the mention of God to four then, to include you and Werner.
Hope all is well.
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Bad Climber
climber
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Interesting thread. I fear protracted pain, for sure. I fear losing my loved ones. I fear losing my dog, who is curled next to my chair as I type. I think of a mantra I mumbled in the mountains above Lake Tahoe where I have spread the ashes of my mother and father: We are all temporary.
So what was good about today?
What can I value and worship and honor?
It was a perfectly clear day in the southern Sierras. I worked with some fine and enthusiastic young people at the college where I teach. My students make me laugh and feel happy to be alive and incredibly lucky to have my job. My dog, Django, was super happy to see me when I got home! I made some progress setting up a tandem trike for me and my wife, which we will pedal from Lone Pine to Vegas this winter. I had a great pizza and a few beers for a man-and-his-dog-home-alone weekend.
If I'm honest, that's plenty. Hell, could be living under ISIS in some sweltering sand hole.
What I want to know and won't live to see: What will life be like when the oil is finally gone?
BAd
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zBrown
Ice climber
Bruj̣ de la Playa
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explain...
One of Hubert's favorite lines. He died (achieved death?) in 2003. Did he fear it? I never thought to ask him.
There is a line of thought that says that (a well-lived) life culminates in death and (happy, fulfilled) life ever after.
Was Hubert showing pity on these sinners who were not going to make it?
What exactly is a sinner? Does it vary through time and/or geographically?
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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What exactly is a sinner? Does it vary through time and/or geographically?
Ask an honest sinner such as FlipFlop. I bet he could answer your question.
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thebravecowboy
climber
hold on tight boys
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Skully, all I know is that life is pretty damn sweet. No reason to fear death, maybe just try to avoid it.
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, or In What Time Zone Am I?
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Cowboy. Not sure why I watched it but it was fascinating in a very peculiar way.
Susan
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WBraun
climber
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No reason to fear death, maybe just try to avoid it.
It's never ever been done.
No mortal has ever escaped .......
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High Fructose Corn Spirit
Gym climber
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That was very cool, cowboy.
See what we miss when we don't live in time-lapse mode? lol!
the comments at youtube are hilarious.
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Bushman
Social climber
Elk Grove, CA
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'Another close call'
My last close call was about five years ago. I was doing a tree job in Sacramento and was up about 50 feet thinning and shaping a huge Tuliptree. I remember taking a shortcut that almost proved my undoing. Instead of keeping my pole saw tied hanging down off my harness I hung it off a limb and left it there so I could swing to the other side of the tree and make a few cuts with my chainsaw. I had climbed down about 15 feet before I swung back across to where I had been trimming before and forgot that my pole saw would now be hanging well above my head. My rope hit it and bounced it off the limb it was hanging on. I saw it as it flashed by me and I tried to duck down to keep it from hitting me. Unfortunately the blade was towards me and before I could get out of the way, it sliced across the side of my neck as it fell past me.
As I felt it cut deeply I knew that the jugular vein and carotid artery were in jeopardy, and my first thought was, "is this the day that I die?" Luckily it wasn't that deep and after feeling with my hand I realized that some stitches would be in order, but the blood was minimal so I tied a bandanna around my neck snuggly and completed the job. Six stitches was a small price to pay for a lesson in how I might have paid for my impatience.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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^^^It's the no sh!t finger of fate, my friend. Admit one to the club.
Good tale told, too.
I just found this on p. 1 of the book I got this morning. I had to buy it, of course.
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Jingy
climber
Somewhere out there
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what if you do not fear death?
what if the time between then and now is a semi-known variable and only comfort awaits the meeting?
What do you write on a climbing websites forum when asked why you fear death when you don't actually fear death?
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Sport climber
moving thru
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Missed you at Face Lift, Jingy!!! We all did :)
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Jingy
climber
Somewhere out there
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^^^ That doesn't change my final answer... ^^^
Thanks Lynne... It's nice to imagine I'm missed when I am not present...
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Captain...or Skully
climber
in the oil patch...Fricken Bakken, that's where
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 3, 2014 - 06:25pm PT
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I just heard today that I'm 3 times likelier to die in ND than any other oil play in the US.
Oh Hell, oh well. Be that as it may, I guess we'll just see how it goes.....
Not particularly afraid, just not real anxious either. Keep yer head down & yer powder dry, like always.
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Sport climber
moving thru
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Sitting outside, watching a magnificent but gentle sunset unfold, thinking of Dan who died nearly 7 years ago and then my Dad 8 months ago and now Mom's not doing so hot.
Looking at the beautiful order of the universe unfold in front of me I can't help but think our lives are similar in the unfolding. Each beginning life, so special and unique, like each day, and each ending the same, like tonight.
I've said this so many times here, but I'd like to say it again. When you go to sleep tonight, honor and thank God for the gift of today. Things may not have gone perfectly, but we are blessed with life.
When you wake up tomorrow do the same. Take some time before you leap into the day. Take a quiet moment to honor the day, the gift, and the people in your life.
ps, jesus is my best friend for a reason....... :) lynne
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Skully
Stay out of ND. Of course
Yur still gonna die.
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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Life is much too short to afford time fearing death.
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TWP
Trad climber
Mancos, CO
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Of course we fear death.
We human are not sufficiently intelligent to KNOW much of anything with certainty. Of course, we lie to ourselves and claim we know far more than we do. This topic especially lends itself to assertions of belief and opinion that are couched as "knowledge" when in fact the matters asserted are unknown and unknowable by being as limited as we humanly are.
Thus I say to all posters on this thread "you know not whereof you speak." Myself included. I reserve to myself however the distinction that I admit that I know nothing, and can know nothing with certainty about how I will feel when - WITH CERTAINTY I KNOW ONCE AND FOR ALL - that my own death is not a distant shore but the next, final and inescapable immediacy
And now, with a drum roll, I give you the answer why we fear death. Because we don't know anything about it! And we never can. And we never will.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Why do you fear Death?
Do I?
death HURTS. What if your drug to death by a raging bull er sumpn.. Or chomped on slowly by a grizz .. F- that..
No it doesn't. Death is painless. Death is magical. Death is beautiful.
It only hurts if you survive the event that should have been fatal.
That's my fear - Surviving.
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MisterE
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
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Death fears me.
Bam!
Okay, that isn't exactly right, but it sounds good and righteous and properly courageous...
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WBraun
climber
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No it doesn't. Death is painless. Death is magical. Death is beautiful.
Just wait till you come back in your next life as a housefly and MisterE swats you with his flyswatter .......
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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An apple a day.
Like Steve Jobs, I think death should be avoided at all costs.
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KabalaArch
Trad climber
Starlite, California
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If I'm honest, that's plenty. Hell, could be living under ISIS in some sweltering sand hole.
What I want to know and won't live to see: What will life be like when the oil is finally gone?
Random speculation indicated here, and offered free of charge:
It certainly appears as though the global concern over the last drop of oil was delivered on our doorstep by extremist OPEC representatives on 9/11 (or, euphonically: call 911). A larger concern might already involve 1st World diplomats, and that's how does the Euro and the US divi up that last drop amongst what remains of the developed nations.
During my little Greenland expedition the group was witness to Islamic population immigrant populations in Scandinavia - Oslo in particular. I was struct by all manner of small convenience store LED signage in Farsi. And, w/o a doubt, the native resent this influx (although I had to be reminded that the Danes who were so enthusiastic about the US role in Iraq were, in fact, military at Station Nord).
Turkey is now very important to NATO. It's our easternmost bastion, and has long been recognized as the frontier which separates Europe from ISIS.
To drift back On Topic is an earlier posted excerpt from what is a fundamentalist Islam vision of a general deterrence from sin: a hellscape which actually reads like a Catholic Sunday sermon text to me. It's been lifted from an Argentine literary figure and writer: Jorge Luis Borges, who brings us One Thousand Nights and One Night from the Persian classic; breaths life into the mythologies of both the North American West, and the gauchos of the pampas; secrets of the Orient and Roman legendary figures.
Hence my reference to a certain nihilism we all seem to share. Honestly, here we are, discussing the existence of God, and all we want to know is When do we eat?
A B O M I N A B L E M I R R O R S
“In the beginning of his cosmology there was a spectral god, a deity as majestically devoid of origins as of name and face. This deity was an immutable god, but its image threw 9 shadows, these, condescending to action, endowed and ruled over a first heaven. From that first demiurgic crown came a second, with its own angels, powers, and thrones, and these in turn founded another, lower heaven, which was the the symmetrical duplicate of the first. The second conclave was reproduced in a third, and the third in another, lower conclave, and so on, to the number of 999. The lord of the nethermost heaven – the shadow of shadows of yet other shadows – is He who reigns over us, and His fraction of divinity tends to zero.”
“Mirrors and paternity are abominable because they multiply and affirm (a parody of a world which is an error). Revulsion...is the fundamental virtue, and the two rules of conduct (between which the prophets gave us to choose) : abstinence and utter licentiousness.”
“To those who deny the Word, runs an imprecation from the Rosa Secreta, “I vow a wondrous hell, for each person who denies it shall reign over 999 empires of fire, and in each empire shall be 999 mountains of fire, and upon each mountain shall be 999 towers of fire, and each tower shall have 999 stories of fire, and each story shall have 999 beds of fire, and in each bed that person shall be, each with its own face and voice, shall torture that person throughout eternity.”
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Captain...or Skully
climber
in the oil patch...Fricken Bakken, that's where
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 5, 2014 - 05:05pm PT
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Ah Mouse......Death makes perfect sense. Ya wanna last forever? That would make no sense.
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Sport climber
moving thru
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Mouse, you just clicked a memory button.
Years ago I watched the movie, "Death Becomes Her". The movie, featuring Bruce Willis, Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, came out in 1992. You need to watch it til the closing moments. Gives you something to think about.
Cheers, Lynne
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Years ago I watched the movie, "Death Becomes Her".
That's good comedy.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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FUR DEATH!
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
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Kabala...You have the 999 upside down..rj
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High Fructose Corn Spirit
Gym climber
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While we mull this over, here's yet another perspective...
"We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. [Climbers greater than Honnold.] We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here." -Richard Dawkins, Unweaving the Rainbow
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Just wait till you come back in your next life as a housefly and MisterE swats you with his flyswatter .......
That is just hilarious! Thanks for the laugh.
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Ophelia's Shadow Theatre by Michael Ende. A childrens book for young and old.
http://www.amazon.com/Ophelias-Shadow-Theatre-Michael-Ende/dp/0879513713
"There was once a little old lady called Ophelia who lived in a little old town." With a voice too soft to be an actress, Ophelia devotes her life to art as a prompter in her town's theater, committing to memory the great dramas. When the theater is forced to close, the bereft old lady encounters Shady, one of the world's unwanted shadows, in the shuttered theater and gives him a home. Miss Ophelia takes in many abandoned shadows, and teaches them her beloved plays, but an increase in rent forces the kind soul from her lodgings. The shadows come to the rescue of their benefactress by performing the works she has taught them; the fame of Ophelia's Shadow Theatre grows. One day, her car breaks down, and another shadow arrives for her, homeless. "Who are you? Do you need a home?" "I am Death... Will you still take me in?" Ophelia thinks for a moment, and then she nods.
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MikeL
Social climber
Seattle, WA
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What a beautiful thread.
I have feared death more times than I can remember. When I was a little kid, I would go to my father and tell him I was afraid of death, and he would take me into his lap, and I would fall asleep. Every time I've found myself *thinking* about and fearing death was when it was some kind of conceptual event. But every time I've come to face it, I've found it compelling, warm, and almost comfortable. Combat, cancer, tough auto crashes, those times were not so bad, actually. It's weird, but everything would get very calm and matter-of-fact.
Death is fascinating. You can't seem to think enough about it.
And it generates endorphins to get yourself scared regularly. It's good for you!
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TWP
Trad climber
Mancos, CO
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What is death?
Since we conceive of ourselves as a unique, separate and distinct entity existing only within a time frame with a certain beginning (birth) and inevitable end (death), we fear what cannot ever be: a continuation without change of the fact that we exist today (and have for some time before (and will for some short time hereafter).
In do doing we rail against the inevitable and seek the impossible: a continuation without change of some fact: in this case, the fact that we exist.
Yet no fact or state of affairs within the universe has remained static and unchanging for even one nanosecond since time's beginning (whenever that might have been). To state this obvious truth shows the paltry futility of our attachment to the absurd noting that there is "life after death" in the sense that something so discrete, unique and distinctive as ME shall have existence for one nanosecond beyond the time when the collection of cells manifesting as my body continue to have life function. As soon as the fire of breath goes out of our body, we are toast: there is no life after death for our discrete being.
I've lapsed into opinion, I know. Yet I will boldly state: I assert to believe otherwise is to fear (and refuse to accept) the truth of the utter insignificance on any grand scale of our fleeting existence as the discrete being and life form though which we now experience consciousness and life.
P.S. My eyesight is giving me fits; detached retina recovery not going so well. If someone sees typos or grammatical errors in this post, please send me a personal email so I can proof and edit this post.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Because I cannot control it.... as Jstan said on 1/20/11 post #6 & #23
in the very start of DR F's thread on all the gobble dye gok VS science.
Also from that dreaded thread
That stuff that GO-B, enlightened me to last night
while clinging to all the good stuff
as a proud goat,
and on the left
accepting Christ or not
I am going to Heck
not Borneo
see the mouse from merced's flames thread
for the Borneo flick
Are there Flames in Heck?
I read less than .3% of the posts on this thread
before I posted so....
I have the capacity to go deeper and along the lines of reincarnation
but that would be butting heads with
Werner Braun
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