Death is undramatic

Something that strikes me – how undramatic death is for most of us human beings. I’ve witnessed it a few times now. There’s a natural process. The human body withers, becomes smaller – straining for air. The body looks more and more like a corpse before the actual death – such that the actual transition is not startling. It’s barely noticeable. It’s small. And then it’s done. We human beings have temporary lives which end undramatically in this small, natural way.

The artist Ferdinand Hodler drew pictures of his dying lover Valentine Godé-Darel. Emaciated flat, eye socket empty except for the small jelly of the eye. Beak-like nose, forehead narrowed, mouth open – death approaches.