Life is unpredictable; it ebbs and flows through peaks and valleys of tribulations and
prosperity. Some people are dealt a less than favorable hand in life while some seem to have it
all handed to them, and some seem to be as lucky as can be while others can’t seem to catch a
break. Regardless of the life that awaits you, there are but one ultimate certainty in life: you will
die. The certainty of death is one of the most powerful thoughts to exist and it is one that every
individual on this planet must confront at some point or other. How we are meant to deal with
this reality is the topic of a debate which has existed between intellectuals since practically the
dawn of time. There are three prevailing responses to death which we humans have recognized
and generalized as denial, acceptance, and rebellion. In this essay, I intend on showing why it is
sensible to learn to accept death and proceed to rebel. While these approaches, traditionally, may
be considered in contrast to one another, I will explain how a combination of these philosophies
can allow one to approach death in a realistic and optimistic way.
Before we can address rebellion, we must first learn acceptance, as this the first step in
addressing the thought of mortality. As stated previously, there is one certainty in life, and that is
that you will die. This is the first thing we must realize and address when we attempt to come to
terms with mortality. To do this, many philosophers would suggest we meditate deeply on the
thought of death itself. There are many different philosophies on even the approach to this step.
Certain Eastern philosophies would suggest that we meditate on all aspects of death rather than
just the death of the “soul”, such as even the more graphic elements of this process like the
decomposition of the body. Western philosophies on the other hand would suggest an emphasis
on meditating as more of reminder of what all of life leads to in an effort to put more value on
the time which we have. Seneca for example says, “We are not given a short life, but we make it
short,” “We are not ill-supplied but wasteful of life,” (Seneca, 1) and, “It is a small part of life
we really live” (Seneca, 2). These Stoic ideologies emphasize mediation on death as a tool to
realize the value one’s life and the time they have in the present. I believe this approach to death
meditation is very beneficial and can help take a topic as uncomfortable as death and transform it
into a healthy reminder of the wonder of life. Aside from meditation, to accept death, the Stoics
like Seneca also posit that we should learn to not fear death through the realization that, just as
we are not filled with anxiety about the time before we were born, a time we cannot know or
feel, we should also not be filled with anxiety of a time after our death, which we can also not
feel or know. Something important to note is that the reminder and meditation of death can be
very helpful if done right, but also detrimental if done incorrectly. There is a theory called Terror
Management Theory introduces a concept called the Mortality Salience Hypothesis which
essentially says that when people are subconsciously or otherwise reminded of their own death,
they will put further dedication into the their values and contributions and those things which
they define themselves by. This can beneficial for some, but studies of this hypothesis have
shown that mortality salience can actually lead to a sense of nationalism and hostility in
individuals. This completely defeats the purpose of acceptance of death as these individuals
begin to entrench themselves in feelings of danger and defense which are more in denial of death
than acceptance and simple self-preservation. For some people, the reminder of death does not
put them ease but rather puts them on edge and fearful of death, despite it being a certainty. In
meditating and accepting death we must make sure that we are doing so with the correct intent
and for the right reasons. If successful, meditating on death can result in being able to lead a life
which you are able to let go of at any moment; you have accepted that death will come and that
time is limited and as such you make full use of that time, leading a life you would be happy to
look back on in the face of death. As stated by Frank Ostaseski, “Reflection on death causes us to
be more responsible in our relationships with ourselves and each other, with the planet, with our
future” (What the Dying Teach the Living).
Once we learn to accept death, I believe we can indulge in the rebellion of death. Many
philosophers who subscribe to the approach of rebellion, such as Sartre and Camus, suggest that
life in total is meaningless. Essentially, our existence in this world has no rhyme or reason
whatsoever and no amount of logic can lead one to placing any reason or meaning in life, a
concept which Camus refers to as the absurd. This is not meant to be an upsetting thought, but
rather a reminder that there is no use in fearing having to leave a world that is meaningless.
Humans for centuries have created systems of belief to try and deal with the reality of death,
such as religion, but Camus argues that there is simply no way to logically reach the validity of
these systems of belief, and rather, there must be some leap of faith from reason to meaning.
Camus finds there to be a sense of integrity in living accepting meaninglessness; for many, this
can be a very jarring and difficult concept to come to terms with and can often lead people to
thoughts of suicide. This is however illogical, as Camus himself points out. Death, being the only
certainty in this world, must be revolted against as it becomes our only true stand of rebellion in
this world, meaningless or not. Suicidal tendencies and an anxiety of death can be a result of the
feeling of meaninglessness because we try to find so much meaning and purpose in an,
ultimately, meaningless existence. Suicide still should not be our solution because it is simply a
submission to the only certainty of our existence, and if we are to make anything of our own
existence, then we must take a stand against our own death. This is why rebellion by itself
becomes a valid response to our mortality; how can this be tied into acceptance of our death?
Many who subscribe too deeply to the idea of the absurd can become detached from the world
entirely, but I find this to be a dangerous outlook because, while our existence may be
meaningless, this belief could lead some to the belief that all their pursuits, dreams, and
relationships are meaningless as well. This existence may be absurd and illogical, but this is still
an existence that we share with others that will end one day; to treat all our years like it is all for
naught is a sad waste of time. Frank Ostaseski suggests that we follow what he calls the 5
invitations of life; essentially 5 strong suggestions on how to lead a meaningful life in a short,
ever-changing, and meaningless existence. He encourages us to never wait for the next moment,
never push things away and always invite novel experience whether we enjoy it or not, bring our
whole self to anything we experience, find time to rest in the middle of things, and lastly,
cultivate a “don’t-know” mind, meaning a mind that is “characterized by curiosity, by wonder,
by awe, by surprise” (What the Dying Teach the Living). There may be an absurdity in the story
of our existence, this seemingly random place and time in which we were born surrounded by a
random assortment of people, only to arbitrarily leave this existence at some point, but the time
we have in this world is very real and so are the memories we create, so how we spend our time
does in fact matter. We should all adhere to these 5 invitations and create our own meaning out
of the time we are given, making sure that our that we can look back on our lives with joy and
comfort when it comes time to leave it behind, regardless of what it all means in the end. While
it is reasonable to acknowledge the meaninglessness of our existence in the big picture, we need
to also be able to let go of that big picture to live at peace with the time we are given and the
people we find in our lives, and create meaning in the now.
Death is not an easy concept for us humans to wrap our heads around, it is like trying to
imagine putting yourself inside the consciousness of another species; it is too foreign because it
is an experience you will never be able know in your lifetime. As such, it is reasonable and
understandable to be overwhelmed by the thought of death. However, I believe, while it can be
difficult, I side with the scholars and great thinkers who believe in learning to accept and rebel
against death. My approach to death boils down to this: we must learn to accept that death will
come one day and that is an absolute fact which we must factor into the way we lead our life,
without allowing it to put us on edge or stifle us. We must then identify some purpose and what
matters in our life, following the 5 invitations Ostaseski puts forth, and strive towards these
things realizing the very real and limited time we have. We must acknowledge that our
achievements do not necessarily define us in a world that is ultimately absurd and meaningless,
but how we lead our lives and treat others in the time we have surely does. We must accept the
reality of our death through meditation and come to terms with the reality that can confront us at
any moment, and we must accept the absurdity of our existence on this large rock hurdling
through a vast nothingness, and from there we must preserve ourselves the best we can, not out
of fear of death, but out of deep love and value for our short time. We must do the most we can
with this short time we are given on this Earth by taking up hobbies, creating goals, finding
passions, cultivating healthy relationships, and taking advantage of the opportunities offered to
us. While this may all be meaningless in the grand scheme of things, following a path of
acceptance and rebellion in the face of death allows us to create a life that is worth dying for at
any moment.