See you later?

Its interesting to ask peoples veiws on what they believe about the death of a loved ones. Many believe that there is life after death and you will be with your family or friends after this life here on earth. Others believe that this life here in earth is it. So you live your life and do what you want because it wont matter after you die. Other believe that you will reappear as something or someone else in a different life. When I ask people about this it brings up many questions, mainly just to better understand their understanding on the subject because if you try to argue your point you will end up in a personal opinion stalemate. It would be interesting to see the difference between a person that believes in life after death, and person that doesnt when it come to someone that died. Obviously its gonig to be hard for both people, but will the "life after death" person be able to accept the loss quicker and move on know that he or she will see them as soon as they die? Or would the "no life after death" person just automatically accept the death and move on? would it take the "no life after death" person longer to move on or not?
I believe that you can't decide where you stand on this subject until you experience the death of a loved one. It tends to bring out the true beliefs of people. But what are your thoughts on the subject? what do you believe and why? Any comment is appreciated.

Dying

We have all heard stories of people that were diagnosed with a terminal illness and instead of hiding away and just waiting to die. They start to live life to its fullest. They dont waste time. They want to spend as much time as possible with friends and families. You hear of the stories where they do all the things that they've always wanted to in theirs lives. Its too bad that in most cases it takes something like that to make people see how precious life really is. For me i have learned this lesson from the death of my cousin. I realized that how preciouse life is and at time I know I just let life go by. But if you thnk about it we are all dying. We are all aging, we are gettting older ever second. So live the life that you have left. Enjoy it. Cause if you start to truly enjoy life you will see that the people around you will also start to enjoy life. It's a contagious disease that needs to spread like the blubonic plague. I truly believe that you will only have a bad day if you want to. Start looking for the good in every situation and be optomistic, and look to see how everyone else reacts to the new you. Because today could be your last, so live it like it is.

Death

Death is always something negative. It is the end of life, everything stops. I dont want to get into a disscusion whether there is life after death or not. That really depends on your own beliefs. But for me i would like to talk about what death now means to me.
About six years ago my cousin spent the whole summer living with us while working. After the summer he was heading back home when he was killed in a car accident. This was the first time anyone really close to me had suddenly died. I had had other relatives pass away before but they had been sick and we were able to prepare ourselves for their passing. But this time it hit home he was a few years older than I was but we were really close and suddenly he was gone. It got to the point where i couldnt believe it. I was thinking that it was a dream and when i woke up he would be there. But as the years went by I was able to accept it and was able to move on. I realize now that his death helped me realize the value of life. Not to take advantage of it, my cousin realized that and lived his life like that. Sure there are somethings that you wont be able to experience. I learned that life is fragile and that we should never put things off in our lives that could be made into great memories. Even though I miss my cousin I am greatful for the lesson so painfully learned. To never let life go by without fully enjoying it.

Aging

Aging is a funny thing. After every birthday it seems that someone always asks. "So do you feel older?" It seems that you never do. Its not like overnight you suddenly gain the responsibilities that come with growing up and become an adult. But recently I turned 23 and at the time I felt the same. But after I remembered that when I was younger thinking that 23 is getting up there. I know that according to society you still are pretty young. But its funny to think back to my other birthdays like turning 21. Everyone is excited to turn 21 even if you drink or not, just knowing you can is exciting. And turning 22 is not a big deal I guess you realize that you have been able to do what all the adults can do for only one year and its not a big deal but for some strange reason 23 is different. You feel older and you look around and you see your friends settleing down, getting married, and starting their families. But I just think that it is interesting that after one day, in my situation, I can actually answer the question Do you feel any older? with a yes I really do feel a little older. (Thoughts and comments are always appreciated)