We all know that there are two inevitable things that are guaranteed in life: Death and Taxes. So why is it that everyone prepares for their taxes every single year of their lives, but they do not prepare for death? The word death” alone is terrifying to some. Saying the word “death” or even thinking about death conjures up fear and unsettling thoughts and feelings. Denial is a human trait that sometimes works right up to the point when you are face to face with your own inevitable death or the expected or sudden death of a loved one. I bet if I asked you whether or not you “knew”” someone who died on this list of people, the answer would be “Yes” and you might go on to say it was sad to lose them. Check out the gallery of “notables” who died in 2012. Did you know someone who died in 2012? I do. I lost several friends, extended family and acquaintances. Some were prepared for “Dead Ahead”, while others were not.
Let’s look at the following death words:
die, expire, perish; meet one’s death, meet one’s end; pass away, be taken; yield one’s breath, resign one’s breath; resign one’s being, resign one’s life; end one’s days, end one’s life, end one’s earthly career; breathe one’s last; cease to live, cease to breathe; depart this life; be no more; go off, drop off, pop off; lose one’s life, lay down one’s life, relinquish one’s life, surrender one’s life; drop into the grave, sink into the grave; close one’s eyes; fall dead, drop dead, fall down dead, drop down dead; break one’s neck; give up the ghost, yield up the ghost; be all over with one., pay the debt to nature, shuffle off this mortal coil, take one’s last sleep; go the way of all flesh; hand in one’s checks, pass in one’s checks, hand in one’s chips, pass in one’s chips [U.S.]; join the greater number, join the majority; come to dust, turn to dust; cross the Stygian ferry, cross the bar; go to one’s long account, go to one’s last home, go to Davy Jones’s locker, go to the wall; receive one’s death warrant, make one’s will, step out, die a natural death, go out like the snuff of a candle; come to an untimely end; catch one’s death; go off the hooks, kick the bucket, buy the farm, hop the twig, turn up one’s toes What words do you use when you are talking about death? Do you use humor? Does it depend on
who you are having your conversation with? Our discomfort with “death words” is real. We should all try to get used to using those words because death (and taxes) is inevitable and having those conversations and making plans for death will ultimately save your loved ones time, money, stress and family fueds while making your wishes known. Please feel free to share with me any other words or phrases you use when you speak about death.
