Is it better to die while doing something you love?

Is the perspective from the person dying, or from the persons who knew the one who died? For the former - well, I'd cherish the opportunity to be able to express my love for my wife one last time; to ensure I've done all I can to easy my passing and its consequences for my loved one; to experience the best of life. Conversely, like anyone I don't want to suffer or linger in near constant pain. For the latter, the same applies - do you want to see your loved ones suffer? Conversely, do you want that one last opportunity to enjoy that which made you love the deceased?

So, perhaps the best answer is that I want both - a chance to say goodbye but to have a painless death.

 
I've already got my funeral planned out, strobe lights and a smoke machine will open the ceremony, then my body will go back and forth on a zip line until the last child cries. At that moment I will drop candy from my hollowed abdomen, and the priest will commence the ceremony with some quote from Brad Nowell.
And I'll be in the front row, hammered drunk, as 6 Lb. 8 oz. little baby Jesus leads the choir in a gospel rendition of Free Bird.

 
I want to die sneaking out the bedroom window at age 100 from being shot in the back by the husband of the woman I just slept with.

 
After looking through my family's records...they all die from heart attacks. I've accepted this and went ahead and told my wife to be prepared. I'm at peace with it. Much better than dying in a hospital after weeks of suffering, IMO.

 
I want to die like my grandfather did...

peacefully, in his sleep...

not yelling and screaming...

like the passengers in his bus.

 
Has anyone ever seen that Robin Williams movie "World's Greatest Dad?" He finds his son's body after an autoerotic asphyxiation accident and writes a fake suicide note for his son so as not to reveal the truth to the community and save any embarrassment.

I'm just saying that I'd put your junk back in your pants and write a fake note for any one of you guys, you guys. I'm hoping you would all do me a solid and slide my schlonger back in the ol' sweatpants for me, too.

 
knapplc said:
You've heard this before - Bob died while doing ____________, and the mourners say "Well, at least he died doing something he loved."

Say Bob loved fishing, and died with his line in the lake. Or maybe he loved photography, and he died while setting up a shot.

Is that a better death than, say, dying in your sleep, or an instant death like getting hit by a bus you never saw?

Is there such a thing as a "better death," or is all dying the same?
Doesn't matter to Bob. Bob's dead. It matters more to the person making the statement, I suspect.
Watching cancer kill my dad isn't fun. But I guess it gives me a chance to prepare for it. Although I don't think one can really, truly prepare for it.

 
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Another way of looking at this is, if I die in a car accident or just don't wake up the next morning, my family won't be drained financially and stuck with a million dollars in medical debt by the time I finally leave this life.

 
Remember when buying life insurance buy just enough to cover your debts and not so much that your wife is happy!!!

 
Watching cancer kill my dad isn't fun. But I guess it gives me a chance to prepare for it. Although I don't think one can really, truly prepare for it.
I wasn't prepared. We knew mom was terminal as soon as she was diagnosed. The next several months were just a mix of failed hopes and dread. We knew when the end was near, those last few days, but even knowing, even having had the chance to say my goodbyes, when I got the call from dad it wasn't any easier.

I'm sorry you're going through this. I wish there was something I could say that would help. Just do your best to forget your dad's last few weeks and focus on memories of when he wasn't sick. I'm trying to forget being with mom at the end, how she wasn't really her, how she'd changed. There are lots of good things to remember, lots of good times. I remember those. It helps a little.

I have a picture of my mom, when we were at my grandma's with most of the family all playing Pitch, and for some reason mom & my uncle were trying to use their tongues to stick a toothpick in their nose. I grabbed the camera and snapped a picture in one fluid motion, and ended up with a pretty hilarious, if a bit off-kilter, picture of those two goofing off. I still have that picture and it's one of my favorites. That's the kind of thing that helps me. Focusing on those times.

 
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