This week, the world said goodbye to Infamous Lawyer Johnnie Cochran on March 29th, Brain damage sufferer Terri Schiavo on March 31st, Chicken Guru Frank Perdue on April 1st, Pope John Paul II on April 3rd – as well as countless nameless and faceless humans whose deaths are not important enough to catch the world’s attention. All this recent loss of life has made me question my own mortality – and wonder what will happen at the hour of my death.

All of my life, I have always wondered what the circumstances surrounding my death would be. Will I be murdered or die of natural causes? Will I be at home or in public? With loved ones or alone? Awake or asleep? In pain or at peace? Afraid to die – or eager to see what awaits me?

Throughout history, prominent figures of both religion and science have tried to theorize what awaits us when we leave our bodies and enter the afterlife. Some have led us to believe that we enter either Heaven or Hell, depending on our behavior on Earth. Some say that we are reincarnated, and return to Earth in another life. And some say that we enter the next level of existence – which is beyond any of our comprehensions. I, like everyone else, have no idea what lies ahead for any of us after we leave this Earth, but I would like to think that assuming a person was a selfless and caring soul during their life – that they will be granted a positive and fruitful afterlife – wherever that journey may lead.

Like most people, I have always wondered when I was going to die. I thought about how old I would be when I died, what stage of my life I would be in – and how I would die and what would await me afterward. Although no one can actually predict the day of their death, I found a “Death Clock” on an internet website that said that based on such trivial information as my birth date, Body Mass Index, sex and outlook on life – that the day of my death will be December 12, 2063. Whether that is accurate or not is something that I will never know.

Do not think that I obsess over death, but based on the recent amount of deaths in the media – and the tremendous amount of death I have been surrounded by these last few years – the thought of my demise has been something that has crossed my mind every now and then, as it does with everyone else. Very often, we forget how fragile we are and how miniscule we are in the big picture of the evolution of our universe as a whole. While we all sometimes feel immortal, invincible, and indestructible – we are, each one of us, living, breathing creatures that could lose the lives we have been given at any time either by natural or unnatural means.

As the dominant species on this planet, we sometimes forget that, despite our perceived control over this planet and its resources – we are part of a vast universe of infinite and limitless life. We forget to realize how fragile and special the gift of life that we were given really is. What we should do, is remember to thank God each day for the experiences we live, the triumphs and tribulations we endure – and the happiness and sadness that we share with others. We should realize that each and every moment we live is a snapshot in time, and no matter what the path of our individual lives are – they are our own personal journey that no one else gets to live but us. We should spend our time making the best of our lives and enjoying each and every friendship and relationship we discover. We should absorb all the knowledge we can about our planet, its history, its cultures, its creatures, its wonders and its peoples. We should acquire optimism, patience, tolerance, acceptance, appreciation, and knowledge. We should look ahead with excitement and behind with confidence. We should realize the gift that is each breath we take and each day we live…

…and we should hope that when we do ultimately leave this Earth – that the journey we traveled was one we enjoyed.