W
e have so little control over what our last moments will be like. Like going bankrupt, the end comes slowly, then all at once. Most people -- basically everyone except condemned criminals -- cannot prepare for their death. They have to prepare for death "in general". Is there such a thing? Is all death the same, or is every death radically different? What are the virtues that allow one to die well? Does preparing for one death make you worse at another?
I used to tell people that my "preferred" way of dying would be by firing squad. The end would be so clear, you would be able to face it truly honestly, and feel your eyes greedily drinking in the last things they would see on this Earth. Walking purposefully up to the line and crossing it all at once; no slipping through, no fading out, no accident. The idea still appeals to me, honestly, but I don't dare to so articulate it these days. I will die -- this is certain. My duty is to trust my death will be suited to me, and that I might learn what I need to from it.