it has been said, and I don’t agree with, but it has been said
that the point of philosophy is to go to one’s death with
equanimity, without fear… the key thing is that philosophy
can allow you to overcome the fear of death without, without
requiring a belief in the afterlife, a sort of longing for immortality…
with that in mind, I challenge you, I dare you to read Tolstoy
‘‘The death of Ivan llyitch’’
I just finished reading it in about an hour and that is with interruptions…
I’ve read it before and it didn’t impact me as it did today because when I read
it before, I was 25 or 30, today I am 62 and much closer to death…
when my time comes, will I be brave or strong or will I cry in the night?
To be honest, I cannot say right now…we always imagine ourselves braver
and with more courage then we actually have…
K: it defies any type of synopsis… it is, as I mentioned, a very short story…
it is about how a man, Ivan Ilytich faced death…and as we read about him,
it forces us to become aware of that which is in our future, death…
how will you face death?
in the midst of the great Dostoevsky book, “The Brothers Karamazov” lies
a small piece of writing called the “The Grand inquisitor” I just read it in
about 20 minutes… it takes no time at all…
don’t worry to much about the entire book, which I have read, and that
takes weeks to read, even a fast reader like myself, no, stick to the
small and easily read part, “The Grand Inquisitor”…
and ask yourself, would man forsake freedom for a bit of bread?
Our entire modern world is a answer to this question… yes, we would
happily give up all our freedoms if we can simply have a small slice of bread…
or that couch or a car or a TV set… we have our answer to the “Grand
Inquisitor” to be yes, we have happily sold our souls for the small pittance
that society give us in the form of a minimum wage…
