I do not fear death; only the process of dying. Although it's probably fairer to say I respect the process. It is, after all, unavoidable.

I do not understand why some people find the fact of their mortality so terrifying and others do not. In fact, I find my mortality a comfort. It means there's an endpoint to my own suffering. It won't go on forever.

I'm nearly 63 and death is less of an abstraction for sure than it was when I was 23 or even 43. I am almost certainly well past the half way point and in fact for all I know I am in my final decade. Or possibly even my final day. Who knows? And yet, it becomes less, rather than more, of a concern with each passing year. I'm genuinely at peace with it.

I have always thought that part of the secret is to live what I call "within your true scope". That is, as a puny mortal, who is not entitled to anything whatsoever from life or the universe or god. One has to get it through their head that life is just a series of things happening -- some you are going to like, others not so much. It's not personal, you're not being picked on or overlooked. There's no (un)fairness to fret over. Life to me has always been like an unmanned steamroller with no no one at the steering wheel (and in fact, no steering wheel). You can jump up and down in front of it and scream at it all you want and it will still slowly roll over you and continue on its way. It doesn't hate you or love you. It just IS.

You don't need the level of control that you think you do. In fact, it's liberating to accept life for what it is and let go of what you imagine it to be.

I can honestly say that if as I type this I suddenly was in the grip of a heart attack or stroke or something and the lights were going out, the only reluctance I would have would be on behalf of my loved ones who depend on me, but even so, I know that they will be fine. They'll be sad for awhile and then they'll "move on". If I were circling the drain right now I would not be bargaining with the universe for more time. I've seen a lot, lost a lot, been underwhelemed alot, am grateful for many aspects of the opportunity and deeply weary of others. All in all, at this point, any time to go is fine with me, particularly if it's quick and merciful-seeming.

It probably helps that I'm on the surviving end of a number of deaths in my immediate family, so it's not a mystery to me what it feels like to experience that. Death is really an old friend these days. Not even a "frenemy". A friend. I think of death like the character of that name in Terry Pratchett's novels. A guy in a hooded robe who ALWAYS TALKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS. Just doing his job. The last time I encountered him, a little over 3 years ago, he finally put an end to my son's suffering. I miss my son, but I thanked Death anyway. It was time. I don't like it, but like I said, some things in life you're not going to appreciate. It would be selfish for me to have kept my son alive. So I let him go. If he were alive he'd tell me to get on with the business of living until Death comes for me. So I did.

That's how it goes. There's no point in denying what you are or where your path ends. When you accept the fact of your own mortality and make peace with it, it's just another thing happening. The last thing, but just another thing nevertheless.

I can't say I like the thought. If I was suffering enough I would wish it, but that is even a worse thought. I went through that once in my life, and would not wish to go through that much pain again. Getting old sucks.

What MsAI said.

I have simply accepted my fate. I have no choice. In response I try to live every day to the fullest.

Growing up Catholic we were taught love for a reward is not enough. If it is only directed toward immortality it won't get one into heaven. Kind of like the Willy Wonka theme. One has to put one's self-interest aside before it can become realized. In other words you have to stop thinking about the reward and focus on doing the right thing for any chance of getting a reward. Not getting a reward has to be included. Clear as mud?

Its not irrational. It is a concept that is terrifying and too big to fully think about ones own nonexistence, or the permanent end of loved ones. It would be irrational not to be fearful.

having faith is a good thing. you just need to have faith in something with possibility! in life I have faith in yin and yang. the 2 sides of the cycle all things go through. good is always followed by bad with good coming around the corner and I have faith in that when planning my life or encountering bad. The universal consciousness idea has legs and potential support in theoretical physics. we cannot explain it all yet but I have FAITH that we will. this is my security.

I look at it like this: I don't fear sleep and the periods of non-REM sleep I encounter. Those moments are as close to nothingness as I will ever come. I don't have any consciousness, no thoughts, no experiences during that time. I don't fear it, and the void of death likewise holds no emotional sway over me. Furthermore, I consider persistence of self to be illusory, with memories of the past and anticipation of the future giving us a sense of unified self but in each moment we have only the present and the actual events of the future have no bearing on us — so the me right now gives rise to another, essentially disappearing. If I die right after posting this comment, the me writing this comment is/was unharmed. I can think of it as an infinity of static me states spanning a lifetime, or I can think of it as an infinity of deaths from moment to moment. Regardless, I have the present moment and nothing else, and when I next nod off the nothingness of sleep won't worry me — and if I never wake up, I'm no worse off than when I was dreamlessly sleeping.

You are a courageous person to openly discuss your fear on a public forum.

The way I see it, our sense of self as a separate person in a body is only an illusion. The only thing of much value about individuals is that which we share in common. That would include deep conscious awareness of self, along with free will, appreciation and gratitude.

It’s hard to grasp, but physicists are saying that from a cosmic perspective, time does not exist. If time is only an illusion, any discussion of an afterlife is meaningless, and “existence” itself is nothing like what we imagine.

If you can identify, not with a body but with the entire chain of organisms, or better yet, with conscious awareness itself, you’ll have no reason to worry about death.

You will always be part of Earth. You always were. That's where we came from.
How about living forever? Doesn't that terrify you?