Sam’s granddad passed away two days ago. It wasn’t wholly unexpected; his granddad had been diagnosed with the last stage of cancer at the end of last year, so longevity wasn’t expected of him. Nevertheless, it still came as a shock to both Sam and I when news of his passing was received. I didn’t know what to say to Sam. Whatever consolatory words I had would be mere platitudes, and would do nothing to ease his grief, so I kept quiet.

Death is depressing. What happens when we die? If were to take a scientific view on death, nothing really happens when we die. We just cease to exist. It’s quite scary now that I think about it. Maybe that’s why so many religions almost always speak of an afterlife be it in heaven, earth or some other place; it’s to comfort us from the cold finality of death. The afterlife gives us the hope that there is a sequel, a part II, an encore. The afterlife is our self-concocted pseudo-immortality.

But if we don’t have death, we’d have immortality. Would that be any better? Incidentally, I’ve been watching an ancient HK drama serial, “千岁情人”，starring Faye Wong as a 2000-year-old immortal who is sick and tired of watching her mortal loved ones die one after another while she lives on in loneliness; thus, she is desperate to find the means to mortality. So perhaps, immortality isn’t exactly the better option either. But what if everyone was immortal? Loneliness would not be an issue then. But of course, there’d be other problems as well like overpopulation. If no one was to die, and everyone just kept having (straight) sex, this Earth would be one really crowded place. But then again, with longevity, the impetus to achieve immortality through our progeny would be reduced, so maybe, overpopulation won’t be an issue.

Population control aside, death serves a wider function: it is the driver of Man’s technological progress. It is the fragility of his life that drove Man to invent a smorgasbord of devices and structures that first served as protection against the elements of nature, and which later transformed into the luxuries we have today. If we had been immortal, we would have seen no need to build shelters to shield us from the harsh weather elements, and all the magnificent architecture we have today would never have materialized. If we had been immortal, there would have been no need for food, and the gastronomic delights we have today would be non-existent.

Death also spurs us to lead a more fulfilling life. With a deadline looming over us, idling would be never without guilt. If we were immortal, we’d have all the time in the world, the guilt from idling would be absent and there would be no sense of urgency in us. Can you imagine a whole world of bums? As much as I adore slacking, it would be too much for me to take.

Nevertheless, even if we do know how death plays an integral role in the larger scheme of the betterment of Mankind, the rational acceptance of death is still difficult when death calls upon a loved one. Shock and grief would be inevitable. Condolences and rationalization do nothing to alleviate them. The pain of bereavement can only be assuaged by the soothing balm of time.