Accepting Death

Our bodies could well be described as our own worst enemies, capable of surrounding the greatest aspirations through earthly physical brittleness; cutting short great lives prematurely. Some causes of death are particularly common and constant efforts are being maintained to fight their destructive effects. However, other deaths occur unexpectedly and are frequently being questioned in why they took place. Attitudes towards death change over a life period of the person. When a baby is born he or she does not understand what death means. The concept of death has to be developed to understand death and have an attitude concerning it. When younger people start understanding death they try to disagree with it and they believe that they can resist it. As the person grows and the concept of death is already developed death becomes a natural thing and viewed differently. American society happens to deny the reality of death. This is the reason why people always get confused with death issues. The ability to understand the reality of death and realize its impact on us contributes to the ability to discuss our fears about death which helps to fully live our lives. “Throughout history, humans have struggled to come to terms with one undeniable fact: At the end of our lives, we must each die” (DiGiulio, Kranz). Throughout our lives, it is virtually certain that someone we love will die before we do, leaving us alive to mourn and grieve that person’s death. Different cultures have handled this inescapable fact in different ways. Some cultures are very close to death. For much of human history, infant mortality rates were very high. That means all the children born; many may not have lived to see their fifth birthdays. Likewise, until the twentieth century, women frequently died in childbirth, sometimes as many as one woman in three. Accidents, famine, diseases, and the generally difficult conditions of life meant life expectancy was short; many men and women were likely to