What a timely article! I was talking to my girlfriend about this yesterday and she became mad at me. What ticked her off was that I made a comment to the effect

What a timely article! I was talking to my girlfriend about this yesterday and she became mad at me. What ticked her off was that I made a comment to the effect of, "Don't worry about <this problem>. Your parents will die soon anyway." I soon realized why such a comment would make people unhappy. From my perspective though, I see death (due to natural causes) as a happy necessity. I insisted that my position on death is that death is an absolute truth. It is going to happen sometime or the other. Let's live this journey of life as well as we can and make sure that we are prepared to handle death (of ourselves and loved ones). Since I give death so much thought, I'm not shocked or traumatized by death when it actually happens (I've seen 8 deaths of close friends and family). I am also better prepared to deal with the inevitable emotional, legal and financial storm that this event might bring. After handling all these issues, I'm also able to respect and reflect on that persons life much better. Peace!