In the Hawaii of yesteryear, the elderly did not recoil from their mortality. In fact, they often chose the day of their demise, announcing to their loved ones that on a particular day in the near future, they would die in peace. The living had an expression for it: “The people dismissed freely their souls and died.”

Today, the stigma surrounding death is so great that we try to stave it off as long as possible. In their final days, bodies that have already been sustained unnaturally by a chronic dependence on drugs become little more than breathing cadavers, hooked up to life-support systems and an unsightly array of tubes, monitors and glaring lights. No consideration is given to the resources consumed in the process and how it may impact the planet. Lives end in the intensive care unit of a cold, impersonal hospital rather than the familiar, intimate setting of a home or a hospice. Family members are left to wonder how they would have done things differently. The recollection of their loved one is forever tainted by the image of their final days in a vegetative state. But even those with specific ‘do not resuscitate’ orders are co opted by a medical system hardwired to take extraordinary measures in stalling the Grim Reaper as long as physically possible. All of which sets the stage for a grand struggle between families, doctors, lawyers and politicians battling over whether machines should be turned off and feeding tubes unplugged. In the end, the sanctity of life is befouled by a desire to control and master nature. And death is seen as a sign of failure.

Medical developments that save lives and enhance our quality of life are a good thing. But improving life is not the same thing as postponing death. In our final days we are living longer, but are we living better?

If we believe that life is precious and sacred, we must commit ourselves to live life abundantly and drink in every moment. And then, after it becomes clear that the ride is about to finish, we must have the courage to die. To deny death is to violate nature.

Ben Landis