Stephen Cave: The 4 stories we tell ourselves about death

www.ted.com/talks/stephen_cave_the_4_stories_we_tell_ourselves_about_death/transcript

When we are here, the death is not; when death is here, we are gone.

Death is not an event in live: we do not live to experience death.?

Life is like a book:Just as a book is bounded by its covers,by beginning and end,so our lives are bounded by birth and death,and even though a book is limited by beginning and end,it can encompass distant landscapes,exotic figures, fantastic adventures.

And ?even though a book is limited by beginning and end,the characters within it know no horizons.They only know the moments that make up their story,even when the book is closed.And so the characters of a bookare not afraid of reaching the last page.

And so it should be with us.Imagine the book of your life,its covers, its beginning and end, and your birth and your death.You can only know the moments in between, the moments that make up your life. It makes no sense for you to fearwhat is outside of those covers,whether before your birthor after your death.And you needn't worry how long the book is,or whether it's a comic strip or an epic.

The only thing that mattersis that you make it a good story.