When Death Smiles at Us All We Can Do Is Smile Back free essay sample

If you fear death than death is not something good its something negative, a closing to your life: instead of a new beginning of something different. Something most people do not realize though death is not what we should be worrying about, the life we live up to the point right before we die should be our only concern. People can die at any moment. There are sometimes signs but also it can come sudden and unexpected. So really you could die right now and never get another moment to live again.So why do people worry about death? Why would someone worry and stress about something that they cant control, when instead they should be worrying about how they can improve there lives, and could help and leave ever lasting memories in the peoples lives around them, so no one would ever forget them. That’s the key, is to be remembered. We will write a custom essay sample on When Death Smiles at Us All We Can Do Is Smile Back or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If you go through life and not talk to anyone or do anything than you can die and it would be like no one even knew you were born.But this is what Socrates explains in his speech â€Å"The Apology,† to live life, and to live life to the fullest would leave you with no regrets and nothing left behind, this is what we consider to be a good death, this is the reason no one would ever forget you, because your story will always be passed on as someone who is worth remembering. Socrates was a Greek Philosopher in the Golden Age. He lived in Athens, Greece and died in 399 BC. He preached on ethics, challenged every person he met, and analyzed them. This meant trouble for the state because he had different beliefs from them and made trouble for himself.At the time around his death the city of Athens started to have doubts of democracy and the efficiency of the government. Socrates was a critic of democracy and spoke for this issue often. The state did not approve of this and pressed charges against him for thinking differently from them. He was charged for corrupting the minds of the youth, and believing in other Gods. When he was sentenced he had a chance to escape and live elsewhere, but Socrates stated that, â€Å"how could you defend yourself against one injustice by committing and injustice oneself. (Plato, 640) Meaning that dyeing for this is dyeing for something, it’s dyeing for a cause and it’s dyeing for a reason; and dying a noble death is a death worth dying for. That’s what Socrates proclaimed in the, â€Å"Apology,† Socrates defense to all the charges put against him. In this speech that Plato, one of his students, wrote down for all to read after him and for people to understand why Socrates did what he did. Being that he preached to the people information that was not supported by the State he was asking for trouble.One thing the State does not realize is that killing a critic wont solve a problem, just like Socrates said, it will only bring upon more critics ‘ they will be harsher and they will cause more annoyance. ’ (Plato, 642) Socrates preaches and lets the men that condemned him to death know that the best way to stop the mouths of critics, is to make yourselves as good of a man as possible so there will be no critics for your behavior. Once there are no critics that affect how you think, or feel, than you have achieved goodness, and a good death.Socrates is one of the first people to show us that death doesn’t have to be bad it can also be good. Socrates called his death a ‘blessing. ’ He explains that this death is a blessing because there would be a good result from his death. Socrates than goes on to give examples of how death is a good thing. He states that death is a change, a movement of the soul that is inside us while we are living to another place. If death were just like a dreamless sleep, than it must be peaceful and relaxing; if death takes you to another place, where all the dead reside than why wouldn’t that be beautiful?You would get to meet the true judges of life, and connect with all the people that left before you. (Plato, 643) Socrates also states that he wants to spend time there just like he did here, examining people’s minds and testing the honesty of people and questioning it. This to Socrates is a good death, because he gets to live just like he was living on earth but he gets peace and acceptance, and gets to experience new beginnings in the next part of his life after death. When you live, there should always be a purpose of living, no matter even if our purpose is to smile at every single moment in the day that is still a purpose. Socrates had a purpose in life, and that purpose was to preach about the meanings of life, and the actions of people. After his condemners took away that purpose, to Socrates there was no purpose of living on this earth anymore; it was time to move on to the next chapter that his soul would go through. He had time to say his goodbyes, say what he had to say, and make peace with the life he lived. So in reality you could say Socrates lived a good life, and left with a good death because as he states in his speech, â€Å" that nothing can harm a good man either in life or death, and his fortunes are not a matter of indifference to the gods. † (Plato, 643) Meaning that if you lived life as good man, why would you not be able to die a good death. Marcus Aurelius supported this idea, and gave metaphors to explain why death is believed to be good. Marcus Aurelius was at one time a Roman King; during his reign he suffered a time of disease, plague, famine, and financial trouble.