Important Ideas/Insights:
1. I realized that the world itself has its fair share of imbalance. Though one person, like Dr. Paul Farmer, can make changes in the world but, such a task requires dedication and sacrifices. Though his good deeds will in turn let karma perform its role. "The rocks in the water don't know how the rocks in the sun feel" (Kidder 110). [Source: Tracy Kidder's Mountains Over Mountains]
2. Dying first may be less painful than living to see others die around you. [Beth Bernett/Evan's Mom]
3. The intent of health insurance, provided by HMO's and other organizations alike, was never to benefit its consumers but, to maximize profits. Though I was quite aware that such companies were ripping millions of people, including me, off, having the idea visualized was more than convincing. [Source: Michael Moore's Sicko]
4. Decisions in the hospital are based upon patient, not the feelings and preferences of family or friends of said patient. As bystanders, we must look past a terminal patient's illness, and perceive them as a human being with a past filled with eventful moments and precious times. [Source given respectively(in order): "Near Death" the documentary and Beth Bernett]
What sources have been most helpful to me?
The discussion about Beth Bernett's experience with life and death was certainly up there on my list of sources that have provided me new knowledge and insights on how to live my own life. I've never been served a plate so full of vivid detail that I was surely in awe of being granted permission to hear the intimate details of a memory that Beth held so close to her, within the perimeters of her mind. Hearing Beth's story, I had not only come to realize the extremity of feelings that overwhelm one when they struck with the fact that their loved one is about to die is more than I could ever understand but, that death can be beautiful in the most gruesome aspects that I have not yet come to comprehend. Such aspects are severely put under curtains that, when it comes our time to face the reality of life and death, we are given almost no time to embrace what will happen in the course of the several years ahead of us. Despite such a talk that has struck deep and grave into my thoughts, I am still ignorant of the harm that a life taken away from me can affect me. No matter how many horrid stories about illness and death are presented in front of me, I believe I cannot fully take hold of the melancholy that many hold because of such stories.
What questions and areas do you think its most important to explore in the final two weeks of the unit? How should we best explore those topics/questions?
We should definitely focus on the questions, "What do near-death experiences provide us with? And do they lead to cliche theories of death?", "How do we cope with the dying of our loved ones?" and "What are rituals that resemble or come close to the idea of death?" I'm not sure how to approach such questions with a certain finesse. I can approach these questions as an a mere novice, attempting to ask all the right people who may or may not be legitimate in answering such complex questions.
Two Paragraphs Addressing Some of The Questions Above
In all my 16 years of living on this earth, I don't believe I don't hold any remarkable near-death experience. Though, I don't think that a remarkable one must always be a shining factor in change of someone's perspective on illness and dying. All those who have generously shared their stories with me have quite honestly provided me with extremely similar reactions and epiphanies to a near-death experience. "Now that I know I could die any moment, I cherish the things around me more" is most certainly a phrase thrown here and there as if its meaning has really escaped. I question whether the common notions of near-death experiences true or are they simply a coincidence? I'm no decipher of human emotions but, the reactions of those who have come to the brink of life have sure left a repetitive impression on me. As indifferently as I may seem when I state this, I assure the humble satire you believe I am emanating is just my ambiguous view of the effects of near-death experiences.
Coping is considerably one of the many things that we humans have made an effort to grow a fondness towards. Coping allows us to ignore the things that we know will impact us most and trek the unbalanced road of future problems and glorious moments. I would assume that the death of a loved one would leave a person mentally damaged and torn to the point that coping cannot suffice in making everything "okay." The sadness or mourning that comes with death cannot vanish; they simply stay, whether we choose to display or not display such feelings. We live through life with experiences that define us and influence us to make the decisions we make. I cannot escape the cliche answer to "How do we cope with the dying of our loved ones?" We simply live with it. Do not be misguided however, my inquiry on how we deal with matters like death has not ended but, has furthered and probably will stump me until the day I experience a illness and see how people around me react or rather, cope with my condition.
No comments:
Post a Comment