There are many things I’m apprehensive about when it comes to dying. For starters, I hate physical pain. Yeah, I have several tattoos and a chronic illness, both of which involve some pain, but the idea of watching my body gradually collapse into various states of decay as I grow older is in another league completely. I also hate the thought of leaving loved ones behind. I’m a nosey person; I love people’s stories, and I love to hear about their problems and share in their joy, so the thought of never knowing what happens next is a bummer. But most of all I hate not knowing what comes after. In eschatological circles, they call this “fear of the unknown”. In my case, it’s more so that I hate surprises - and the odds of this particular surprise being a good one are pretty low.
Luckily, I’m far from the first person to feel this way. Since the beginning of time,