It is interesting to me that humans have the ability to make decisions that may ultimately result in their "untimely" death. If you want, you could say that we make these decisions all day long: Do I cross the street? Do I smoke this cigarette? Get in the car? I'm not talking about those kind of choices. I am speaking of the risks we take when we decide to seek thrills and live on the edge. I personally would love to experience the thrill of sky diving or bungee jumping or hang gliding. I can't lie though, the very real risk of death in those situations is something that may hinder me from taking the plunge (lol, word play). However I have a feeling that eventually I will take the risk. If I were to die would it really be "too soon"? Perhaps for my loved ones, but I don't believe I will be aware of my absence on planet earth after death. Is that a selfish thought?
Whenever I am riding my bike on a road that does not have a bike lane (there are many roads like this in Austin) and a bus begins to whizz past me, I grip my handle bars as hard as I can, take a deep breath, and squeeze my eyes shut and envision my death by bus. If a bus has ever driven past you on your bike you know that it can be so close at times that you could reach your hand out and touch it. This is of course fairly scary. The bus is loud and fast; on my bike compared to the bus I am relatively silent and slow. I think of whether or not it would be intense pain or if it would just kill me quick and fast. A wave of relief passes me when I realize that I am still alive and well and I continue my journey. Something happens to me after these "near death" experiences, though. I start pedaling faster, faster than I ever normally pedal. I feel energized. Energized by mortality and how temporary life here on earth is. Keep on truckin!
WolfSapanther by Chelsea Shannon
