Today while participating informally in the church coffee hour, I was waiting in a short line for the regular coffee (our church attendance was only 44 today as it was pouring rain and windy), two gentlemen were chatting. One of them turned to include me in their conversation and opened with a real conversation stopper. He asked if I was afraid to die? I paused and turned the question back to the two of them. Both smiled sheepishly and sort of demurred to answer directly. I answered, “No.” They seemed to find that mildly amusing. I was a bit surprised that they seemed more concerned than me. We had just had a sermon on the pious church-goer v. the repentant and grateful tax collector. I would have thought neither of them would be worried as I perceive them as active and moral living people.
My philosophy is best summed up by Isaac Asimov:
Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.
Life Gets Better 