Aphorism Poster

"Death is not contagious, you know. Death is as natural as life.

It's part of the deal we made."

     This particular aphorism refers to how Morrie thinks most people see death as "contagious," and how they are so afraid of death as if it isn't natural. Yet it is only natural that life should come with death: "It's part of the deal we made."

     In June 2012, my maternal grandfather died. Apparently he died in his sleep, foam in his mouth. Peaceful or not, I'm not sure, but he died naturally, although his years were cut short by tobacco. Like Morrie thought, the immediate family hadn't treated his death as thought it was natural, except they acted in denial of it instead of treating it as contagious. They didn't want to believe that my grandfather was dead. I accepted it, though, either because I knew somehow that death was natural or because I was a hundred times more emotionless than I am now.

     If I disagreed with this aphorism, I wouldn't have chosen it for this project. After being introduced to this idea, I thought that what brings about life should have some sort of equalizer, something that ends life: death. Otherwise, the earth would be filled with pleasant old people, with not too pleasant old odors. Actually, wouldn't they have decayed by now? It would be much like Morrie's condition for most of the book, except far worse: unrecognizable flesh bags, forced to live for eternity. War would also be more pointless than it already is. Life is natural, and its counterpart and equalizer, death, is also natural. It's needed just as much as life.

My Personal Aphorism

     Close-minded individuals think that the way they perceive society is the only way society exists.