Contemplation of Death

Death had been a subject which we explored frequently in our daily life, most of us would not like to come face to face with it, however through our journey on earth, inevitably we have to deal with it when it occurs to our close ones, and eventually we have to face death ourselves. Death is the return before birth.



My dad passed away many years ago had prostate cancer and he was in his last stage of a full blow symptom. He bloated because of the body's inability to get rid of water from his system. The hand ballooned. We knew that his end was coming. He hailed from a traditional family, he believed that a good death should be one at home surrounded by family members. So it was his wish to return home. Together with my youngest brother we arranged for an ambulance with life supporting oxygen tank and brought him home. He died upon entering the door to our home. He was surrounded by my mother and siblings. His wish was realized. We were so busy arranging for his death certification, embalmment, and death ritual. Only after a week, in the quiet night, relaxing on the sofa, I felt a sudden surge of sadness over his death. He was a great father who taught me about life and care a lot about me. His greatest was his ability to face difficulty in life with calmness and resolute. We all know we need to face death. We need to die with dignity and we want a good death.

Ant's Death

Every living thing has to face death. He faced a slow death. Little by little the fungus germinated and fed on him. He had no doctor. No one who was able to provide medication or surgery to remove the invading parasite. Did he feel despair? May be. Death would have taken over him when the fungus had engulfed his whole body. His only recourse was to climb to the top of the plant, bit hard on the stem and waited for his life to be terminated. This is Nature. No right or wrong, no cruelty or sympathy, just being.
Death paints the triviality and fragility of every living being. Every sadness will come to pass if you see the nature in everything.

This image succinctly illustrates the encounter of death by the ant. We are always aware of the peril and agony of disease caused by malignant virus and bacteria in human. Little did we realize that all living things faced the same danger. Here is an ant engulfed by fungus resulting in his death. He too want to have a good death, to rise to the highest tip of the stalk, bit hard and tight, remains in a stasis illustrating his unwillingness to succumb. May be I read to much into his action, but this is what this image would resurrect the spirit of life and all living things, an eternal struggle against death and even faces with its inevitability, we show our resolve.

Stubborn Sheen

Some how death had besiege this blue beetle, the fungus, or some kind of immobile living thing got over the mobile living thing. It seized the beetle and locked him in this permanence. He left a stubborn blue shine as his illustrious venture. All things come and go others were made shorter by another.