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by mongo_lover 1926 days ago
As someone that has had one or two "deathbed" experiences, I can say two things struck me about them

1) I felt complete peace about dying. In fact, I had to reason myself towards wanting to live

2) I felt a level of clarity about what was important to me that I have never felt before (or since). I struggle to incorporate that into my life on an ongoing basis.

I think these experiences were a terrible gift. I would wish everyone experienced the clarity I had but I could not wish you had to go where I did to get it.

3 comments

When I wonder about my own death I'm always unsure whether I'll be afraid and sad about the fact that I won't see the future or just be so tired with how I feel that I'll just want to be done with it as soon as possible.
The more imminent death seemed, none of that really came to mind. I only felt fear when death was a possibility but when it seemed death was certain, that fear went away. It was strange.
Is is worth your time do describe that feeling of clarity? Have you ever been able to (re)capture it, even for a moment?

Is this a silly question? That's an interesting datum in itself.

It's hard to describe. Best thing I can say is everything just fell away and only the truly important remained. I have never been able to feel that same way again but I try to remember what I felt was important. It is surprisingly hard.
Thanks for sharing a piece of how it felt. I'm curious what the circumstances around that were, if you don't mind.
I had(!) an incurable type of cancer. There were complications during chemo.