TIL. Also...my take (or whatever.) (Off-Topic)

by BeardFade , Portland, OR, Wednesday, December 28, 2016, 05:04 (2975 days ago) @ INSANEdrive

I'm sorry if I riled you up that way. I thought I made it clear that 1) what I was about to say might be insensitive, but 2) that I really am sorry for and share my sympathies with those particular touched by certain death's this year.

I have not been exposed to many other people talking about the mathematics regarding the increase of celebrity deaths. If you have, then my apologies for adding another voice to it.

As for your "monster", you're absolutely right. It is the nature of humans to create coping mechanisms. They can be anything from jokes, to sex, to religion, to mythology. I think however, we create these mechanisms (or align with already existing ones) largely because we don't take death seriously enough. It's unfortunate that being realistic about the role of death unnerves so many people. I have always been a bit more interested in death than the people around me, but I have never found that fascination to be debilitating. If anything, it is enabling. It forces me to focus on what can be accomplished, or to move on from things that are going to fail so that I might pursue something better. "For all things there is a season under the sun."

In my experience, I draw largely upon the several years I was a pastor, most people blatantly ignore death in their lives until it happens. The family and loved ones die, our heroes die. No one's ever prepared for it, which is perhaps one of the most fascinating things about humans. I guess I can't help myself but to take an opportunity to try and get people to think a bit more about the inevitable end, with the hope it might help them be more focused and get more out of the life they have.

Once again, sorry to upset you.