Woman, 29, Will End Her Life In Nov. 1

[veritasluxmea]

[PhuturePriest]

Everyone read this article as soon as you can (Hint: That is now):

 

http://www.dioceseofraleigh.org/content/raleigh-seminarian-terminal-brain-cancer-responds-brittany-maynard

[4588686]

 

On a cosmic scale, death is a breakdown. Every time someone dies there is less energy available to "run" the universe. The "circle of life' you've heard about is just the universe scraping together the usable energy that remains and using it try to turn over the engine. Every time someone dies it takes longer and longer to start the engine.  Harder and harder to fix the breakdown. Each death is a step closer towards that day when all the cosmos is reduced to a ruined, empty, radioactive wasteland.  

so your death directly contributes to the destruction of the universe. 

and when all is said and done, you poop your pantaloons.

repeat: no death is beautiful. no death is peaceful. no death is dignified. 

 

Nope.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_energy

[4588686]

Who said anything about second guessing? Her situation clearly fulfilled the requirements of the law or else she would not have that medication in her cabinet. My comment was meant to illustrate how difficult it is for me to wrap my head around this. It's frightening. No judgment or condemnation here. In other words I expressed my thoughts. Last I checked it was okay to do so.

 

 

Yep.  My apologies.  

[Seven77]

 

repeat: no death is beautiful. no death is peaceful. no death is dignified. 

 

While that may be true, it is fully possible to die beautifully, peacefully, and  with dignity. Its one of the things that Bl. Mother Teresa endeavored to help people do.

[Lilllabettt]

Nope.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_energy

 

 

No. you are wrong.

I say nope to you. 

1st law of thermodynamics gets all the press cuz its all warm and gooey.

no one ever mentions the 2nd law. 

 

the 1st law of thermodynamics re: conservation of energy says that energy can not be created or destroyed. Mufasa!!!! Simba!!! Everything the light touches is yours!!! 

 

the 2nd law of thermodynamics says "JUST KIDDING!" or Mufasa was wrong! or: though the amount of "total" energy cannot be changed the amount of "usable" energy can be. Available usable energy is in fact constantly diminishing, entropy is constantly increasing.  

 

(((( Entropy: a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder in the system.))

 

The principle pathway for this constantly increasing disorder is death - death of living organisms, of stars, etc. 

 

physics is not a kumbaya subject. 

[Lilllabettt]

While that may be true, it is fully possible to die beautifully, peacefully, and  with dignity. Its one of the things that Bl. Mother Teresa endeavored to help people do.

 

 

it's possible to die relatively beautifully, relatively peacefully, with relative dignity. 

death is nasty and evil. And inevitable. The only thing we can do is prepare ourselves to endure it the best way possible. No matter what, it is the most unnatural and awful thing anybody ever has to do. 

[Kia ora]

So I tried to keep this brief, but overall I'll restate my question: how do you respond to these stories both internally and to other people. Is it worth even engaging the issue amongst those who lack faith and don't see the value of suffering at all?

 

I don't think it's something that we can force people into seeing. To be franky, I'm at a loss to even think of how I would encourage someone to see suffering as not necessarily a hopeless thing. It's something that the sufferer must herself recognise and find meaning in. You can't find it for them. I certainly think it's easier with people who you know and are good friends with, because a stranger telling you to find meaning in their suffering from over the internet is not going to be very useful, if at all.

[Ice_nine]

I don't think it's something that we can force people into seeing. To be franky, I'm at a loss to even think of how I would encourage someone to see suffering as not necessarily a hopeless thing. It's something that the sufferer must herself recognise and find meaning in. You can't find it for them. I certainly think it's easier with people who you know and are good friends with, because a stranger telling you to find meaning in their suffering from over the internet is not going to be very useful, if at all.

 

 

That's kinda how I feel, but part of me thinks it's a cop out.

 

and also maybe you can't tell the sufferer that, but what about all the folks who are posting the stories and giving either tacit or explicit approval of offing yourself in certain circumstances?

[Anastasia13]

We are all dying. Some just see the steps of mortality's clock move faster or more visibly in their lives. The fact that it turns should motivate us to make the minutes matter, not to give up and die where all are equal, no illness special, and no faith in anything (like God or science) that could change things.

 

It's not brave, not even a quality of life thing, just giving up. Don't give up on life. 

Edited October 24, 2014 by Light and Truth

[Credo in Deum]

That's kinda how I feel, but part of me thinks it's a cop out.

 

and also maybe you can't tell the sufferer that, but what about all the folks who are posting the stories and giving either tacit or explicit approval of offing yourself in certain circumstances?

 

 

I think you should debate the stance that suffering diminishes dignity.   

[Kia ora]

That's kinda how I feel, but part of me thinks it's a cop out.

 

and also maybe you can't tell the sufferer that, but what about all the folks who are posting the stories and giving either tacit or explicit approval of offing yourself in certain circumstances?

 

i'd say that debating with them is useless, but that IS a cop out, because unfortunately people like that have influence on the world and people. but at least it's a good thing to keep in mind when going into 'combat' with people. you're not at all assured of swaying their minds. you're not at all assured of swaying the minds of the silent audience either! but since it's impossible, if not immoral to stay silent, why not put the word out there. not to convince or to change hearts, but to offer another opinion so that it isn't an echoing chamber of the same voices, for the benefit of those who really need it. it's possible that to someone seeking a reason not to kill themselves, even one small voice saying they shouldn't, even if it is a minority one, is more effective than a chorus of loud voices saying that you should. and if someone is seeking a reason to kill themselves, then it's hard to dissuade them even if they stumbled into a forum of catholics telling them not to.

[penguin31]

Every second of one's life is a gift. To see someone voluntarily walk off the field before the game's truly over is a source of much sadness. For someone to end their own life while their heart beats on, they must be going through a great deal of pain.

Believe me when I tell you I can relate to the idea of wanting to simply make the pain stop. But if you're dead, that's it.  So long as you live, there's a chance - even infinitessimal - that one might live. That one's bad fortune might turn around, or that one's sicknesses might heal. I don't think I could give up on those odds, however faint.

A story, from my own life:
My grandmother declined rapidly about ten years ago. By 2007, she barely recognized her own family, and was largely confined to her bed in a nursing home.  Then she suffered a stroke.   And kept going.  For two years, my grandmother fought.  Most of the days were not pleasant.  But every once in a while, perhaps once a month, all of a sudden, she'd spring back to life - and though she still couldn't move around and her speech was a little slurred, she was back to her old self again, as sharp as ever.  Even after several years of Alzheimer's and a debilitating stroke, we'd occasionally get to see those glances of the person she was.  And she was still in there, and her soul was still strong.

She'd always talked about wanting to hit 90, and wanting to see my Aunt (her oldest daughter) hit her 65th birthday. She died, at age 90, the day after my aunt's birthday.

[organwerke]

Everyone read this article as soon as you can (Hint: That is now):

 

http://www.dioceseofraleigh.org/content/raleigh-seminarian-terminal-brain-cancer-responds-brittany-maynard

 

Wow, I have tears in my eyes... this is so moving.

Could I have only 1% of his faith!

[dairygirl4u2c]

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/10/194905-the-woman-who-has-chosen-to-end-her-life-on-nov-1-releases-new-video-addressing-her-fears-and-emotions-as-the-date-arrives/

 

The Woman Who Publicly Announced She Would End Her Life Nov. 1 Has Changed Her Mind (for now)