Anshu Meena
Anshu Meena

I Was Scared of Dying... Until I Learned How to Live

I Was Scared of Dying... Until I Learned How to Live

Last week, something strange happened to me. A thought hit me like a punch in the chest:

“Someday, I’m going to die.”

It wasn’t a poetic thought. It wasn’t philosophical. It was fear. Raw, cold, physical fear.

My brain started whispering scary things:

  • My heart will stop.
  • My mind will go silent.
  • Everything I’ve built, everything I love… someday it won’t be mine anymore.
  • I will stop thinking.
  • I will simply… disappear.
  • And one day, no one will even remember me.

I sat with that fear for hours. And for the first time, I realized why death frightens us so deeply — it’s not because we think we are dying soon. It’s because we love being alive.

But I didn’t want to stay scared. So I started learning, reading, understanding… and what I discovered changed me.

This is what I learned.

What Death Actually Is (Scientifically)

Biologically, death is simple:

  • The heart beats for decades.
  • Electrical signals fire in the brain.
  • Oxygen moves through blood like a silent river.

Then, one day — maybe at 90 or 95, not now — the system becomes tired. Cells stop repairing. The heart slows. The brain shuts down.

Consciousness fades like a sunset. The “I” dissolves.

It sounds terrifying, yes. But here’s the truth science doesn’t always say out loud:

Consciousness is a mystery. No one knows why we exist, why we feel, why we can love, dream, build, or hope. We don’t know what awareness actually is.

We know the body dies. We don’t fully know what happens to the “self.”

That uncertainty is not a curse — it’s a doorway.

What Death Means in Different Beliefs

Every culture tried to answer the same question:

Hinduism & Buddhism

You don’t end. You transform. Rebirth. Karma. A new life. A journey that continues beyond physical form.

Christianity & Islam

A soul that lives after the body. Heaven, peace, judgment, eternity.

Sikhism & Jainism

A cycle that leads toward truth and liberation.

Ancient ancestors

They believed life is a circle — seasons, generations, stars, everything comes and goes.

Even if you don’t fully believe these things, one message echoes through all of them:

👉 Death is not the enemy — it is a part of existence.

It is the reason life has value. It is the reason we cherish moments. It is the reason we love deeply.

Why We HAVE to Die

This was the hardest truth for me to accept:

Life can exist only because death exists.

If no one died:

  • The world would have no space
  • No evolution
  • No room for new generations
  • No improvement
  • No future

Your ancestors lived, struggled, learned, sacrificed — and then passed everything forward so you could exist.

Your life is the gift they left behind.

You are the continuation of thousands of lifetimes.

Death Is One Experience. Life Is Millions.

Someone once said:

You only die once, but you live every single day.

Death is just a single event. A moment. A tiny dot on a huge timeline.

But every morning you wake up, every breath you take, every laugh, every hug, every dream — those are the real experiences.

The ones that shape you. The ones that matter.

If death is the last page of a book, then life is all the chapters where the story actually happens.

So… How Do We Live a Long, Beautiful Life?

I wrote these notes for myself, but you can take them too.

1. Protect your heart

Walk daily. Eat mostly real food. Avoid smoking. Control stress.

2. Protect your brain

Sleep well. Read more. Talk to people who make you think.

3. Build strength

Strong body = long life. Do push-ups, squats, walks, anything.

4. Do yearly checkups

Catching problems early adds years.

5. Reduce stress

Meditate. Go outside. Breathe. Live slowly sometimes.

6. Stay connected

People with close relationships live longer than people with perfect diets.

7. Have a purpose

Your life needs a direction. A reason. A project. A mission.

Purpose is medicine.

And How Do We Live a Happy Life?

Here’s what I realized:

  • Say the things you want to say
  • Love the people who love you
  • Forgive faster
  • Experience more sunsets
  • Travel
  • Build
  • Learn
  • Laugh until your ribs hurt
  • Be brave enough to dream

Most importantly:

Seize the day.

Just like Robin Williams said in Dead Poets Society:

“Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”

One day, death will come — but today is yours. This hour is yours. Your dreams are yours. Your choices are yours.

Make them beautiful. Make them loud. Make them unforgettable.

Because you’re alive now. And that’s everything.