My very old in-law died last Saturday. He was almost 96 years old, and me and my girlfriend were taking care of him for the last 15 years, after his wife died in 2006. I moved in with him in 2015, so he could stay in his own home. So, for the last six years, he was never alone. And honestly, I don't think there has ever been, or ever will be, another elderly person in the history of mankind that has been taken more care of than him. My girlfriend is a doctor, so medically, he was in good hands. And me and him both enjoyed watching sports, so he was never alone when a game was on. Think about getting your favorite meal every single day, taking (short) trips every day, and pretty much getting whatever you want, 24 hours a day.
My 'issue' is not so much with mourning, although even though he was old, it still hurts like somebody ripped your heart out. Five weeks ago, he did not want to eat anymore. I guess he was ready to die, we kept giving him lots of fluids. Last Saturday, I woke up at 6:49AM (I sleep in the living room next to his bedroom), and I knew immediately that he had stopped breathing. I walked into his bedroom and it was really weird (and extremely shocking). That is the point of this topic, and I am really curious how you feel and/or think about this subject: his dead body was there, but he was not. It really felt like something, or somebody, had left. I am not a religious person, but the night before he died, his eyes were wide open, and he was clearly seeing something that I could not. Call it heaven or whatever you want.
I have been thinking about this ever since I was 18 years old (I am 55 now). Back then, I took a parachuting class, and during my first jump, I was scared to death, literally. I thought I would die. And that is when it happened. I felt a surge of energy, a force, that pulled me out of my body, and that let me hover over my own body while it was falling. I could see myself from above. When the chute opened, I was back in my body. I know that sounds weird, but trust me, I am not on drugs or anything. After I landed, my instructor, who watched the students from the ground with binoculars, started to tell me all the things I did wrong, but I stopped him and told him that I already knew, because I had seen myself. He answered that this happened quite often, especially with people on their first jump, where they would be really scared.
That experience was so weird and left such an impression that it often forces me to put things in perspective. So last Saturday, the entire issue came back, and I am really convinced that there is a physical body, and there there is something else, the you, the soul, whatever. When the physical body is not capable of let's say housing the you, it leaves that physical body. But where does it go ? Where did you go, old man ?
I am pretty sure I have a point, because if you look at yourself, your physical age never matches your felt age. A 90 year old still feels like a 20 year old. The body ages, but nothing else.
So what is your opinion on, or rather your experience, with witnessing death ?
