The Journey Towards Death

Suppose you have planned a holiday to Ibiza on July 12, 2005. You have bought your tickets, booked your hotel accomodation, and your travel agent has even given you a detailed itinerary for the one week that you shall be spending there. However, though you know precisely what you shall be doing in Ibiza and have quite a clear mental image of what you shall see there, you cannot actually be sure that you shall arrive at Ibiza. For all you know, the flight may be cancelled on that morning due to inclement weather, or you may be down in bed with a nasty flu, or you may have sprained your ankle the previous evening, or your sister may have to be admitted to some hospital for a postnatal complication.

Now contrast all these modalities with the journey towards death, a journey that you are engaged on even as you read these words. Firstly, this time you can be absolutely certain that there is no force in earth or in heaven that is potent enough to prevent you from reaching your destination, that is, Death. Secondly, unlike the proposed holiday to Ibiza where you know quite accurately what you shall see and do on that island if you get there, you do not have the same level of certitude concerning what shall happen to you on the other side of the grave.