[truncated]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

here's my quickie:

fear of death is natural, and genetic; demanded by survival and ingrained by evolution. it's there.

some years ago i was in this strange situation of pulling a big bull with ropes suddenly everyone lets go and guess who the bull looks at? my adrenaline shot like a motherfucker & i FLEW away & over a tall fence that left the bull charging at some posts.

besides fear there is cowardice-- oy, the constant, fucking, annoying terror, and the worries, and the... !! that's a disease and i've had my share of it.

i can also speak towards the "unfulfilled life"-- once i was hurling towards this building at maybe 50 mph inside a car the vehicle skidding and having done anything possible to avoid the collission and then to minimize its impace i faced the inevitable and-- surprise!!-- what pops into my mind?-- is it "booohooohoo i am going to die"?? -- no!-- it's "But i haven't done what i wanted to do...". i came out of the thing w/ a busted eyebrow and some major ptsd, but the stress had more to do with the consequences of staying alive & facing, oh, a number of destroyed cars & the injuries of passengers. the busted eyebrow (i was wearing no seatbelt) was the result of a last-second reaction to cover my passenger w/ my arm, so that my face impacted the windshield.

so i can say, you're afraid of death when your job is to avoid it but once you're right there it seems that other instincts take precedence.

Important distinction you made there between instinctual fear and cowardice.