Better by far you should forget and smileThan that you should remember and be sad —Christina Rossetti, “Remember” One midsummer day, my grandfather called from Korea. Without preamble, he asked if I could come home. I knew at once that something was wrong. He hated the thought of his granddaughter spending money and making the … Continue reading When the Sunflowers Bloom Again: Death of a Memory
How do whales die? Like humans, whales die in many different ways, but the one that captivated me was drowning. A creature that spends nearly a century roaming the vast ocean, living under water—drowned by it.
We are always dying. Even today, 50 billion pieces of you died. Those 50 billion cells of yours that died today always knew this day would come. Their death was by design, programmed in the beginning. Your recently departed cells didn’t resist death. Not only did they accept it triumphantly, they also made sure even … Continue reading “I’m ready—please remove me.” : Death of a cell
Meditation on Death 05 * One afternoon, I found myself deeply immersed in a feeling of failure. It all started with organizing my inbox. I was diligently deleting spam emails and saving important ones from the hundreds that had piled up. Before I knew it, several hours had passed. Inadvertently, while reading through old emails, … Continue reading This Train Terminates at Death Station
Meditation on Death 04 No one ever said that life would be easy. Life sometimes feels like it deliberately finds paths with obstacles like that physical education teacher who made us jump over hurdles to build strength. Are we supposed to build our muscles by overcoming obstacles? While living a nomadic life of shuttling between … Continue reading My Eternal Dark Knight, Death
Meditation on Death 03 It was when I went to a restaurant in London to have a meal. One of the staff members was very rude to us, including many other customers. It was unnecessary rudeness that harmed both himself and others. Despite trying to hold back my emotions and not letting someone else's behavior … Continue reading Learning Kindness from Death
Meditation on Death 02 Thinking about death is like relieving tension. We live our lives with all our might as if the world would move to our will. Perhaps until we collapse from exhaustion. Stiff on the ground, we give a glance to death. Standing in a dark corner, death speaks. "Ease up a bit." … Continue reading Death says, ‘Chill out’.
Meditation on Death 01 I really wanted to become free. Free from the thoughts that cling to me all day long, from the emotions that crush my peace without getting tired, and above all, from myself, the source of all those things. So I started meditating to forget myself. Perhaps the desire to become 'nobody' … Continue reading Death brought freedom
Meditation on Death Prologue There was a time when I believed that death was the only salvation. Every waking moment was painful, and I eagerly awaited the moment when I could fall asleep. I prayed that the next morning would never come. Those nights were agonizing, but they changed me. I became someone who was … Continue reading Why I started relying on death
