Death! Is it all there is to life?

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Death! Is it all there is to life? There were times when I wished we all knew when we would die so at least we could prepare ourselves and our near and dear ones to our impending death. Right through my youth since I came to realize the real essence of being alive I had encountered death albeit indirectly through relatives, friends and acquaintances. Subsequently when I view a brief flashback of their life as I knew them and also the way their immediate kith and kin viewed it from their perspective, I have always wondered as to when, do we really die? When does life really end? When the heart stops beating, or the brain stops working or the mind stops willing? I am confused. I have a friend who is suffering from a rare ailment and aware of it too and its ramification, death at any moment without warning. He is not supposed to drive, or do a lot of things but still does it all as if nothing is wrong. He cannot survive without his bike and I for one pillion ride with him on highways and crowded streets without a care in the world, for I am worried that the scare on my face might reflect what he does not want to see. On the contrary the smile and eagerness of my attitude prompts him to believe that there is no end to life, even in death. Lisa Ray, international model and film actress and voted as one of the ten most beautiful faces of this millennium by one of the leading dailies of the world, has been diagnosed to be suffering from a rare form of cancer, Multiple Myeloma . This is a type of cancer that normally afflicts people above the age of 60, and she is just 37. Cancer in any form, at any age, in any country means just one word, death. Lisa has taken it in a very stoical manner by the way she has described it and goes on to add that she believes it can be cured. When she mentioned just before going for a treatment session that she is a junior member of the cancer club, and she was going to listen to her bone marrow, she sounded like a pregnant woman speaking of the child she is nurturing in her womb with all the love in the world. There seemed to be life in death too. On a Friday evening a fortnight ago I met a close friend who worked as a manager in a posh restaurant. After his usual admonishment as to how weak I looked, we spent time sharing some light banter and coffee. Later he walked me to the escalator and shook my hands reminding me that we will meet on Sunday. On Sunday morning I was rudely awakened at 7.00 am by his assistant, informing me that my friend had met with a fatal accident on Friday night. The funeral was on Sunday at 4.00 pm. We did keep our appointment for Sunday but sadly only one was aware of it. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him, but death had stifled life. Death! Is it all there is to life?