People aren’t here to stay! 
And that’s a hard, harsh fact. Another harsh fact is that this write up is not for the sensitive. It’s a hard piece without and emotional charge – so pray stay away from marking out my thoughts with labels of sentiment or use the sensitive gauge. My emotions remain unquestioned and unjudged at the moment. Think before you read on – for I am in a slightly crazy mood today.
Yes, we are born, we live for a certain unknown period of time, we die. Do we have an afterlife? I don’t know. Not quite been there. But perhaps if I have been there – I don’t remember it in this birth at least – in my current reincarnated state if one believes in birth-death-birth-death being a circle of life.
The recent death of a celebrity, followed by needed and not-needed-at-all media frenzy in print, audio, visual and the virtual world evoked a few thoughts that I’d like to share. And this had nothing to do with my emotions about any celebrity. In fact, it’s a dry, straightforward rant of thoughts – objective to the core, perhaps with an outburst at the end…
Keying in my thoughts as they occur:
Unlike many celebrity deaths, mine will neither be due to drug, medicine or alcohol overdose – for I do neither; nor will it be caused by an intentional or unintentional suicide, or even a family-manoeuvred murder. No hope or scope for drama. (Sorry to disappoint you!)
It will not evoke the interest of anyone – other than, hopefully, my own family and a small circle of friends.
It will not warrant gossip or new reports, or any post-mortem analyses from one and all that the poor departed soul of a celebrity may or may not have to deal with.
And there will be no RIPs for me – not even from friends and family. So people, if you think a departed soul has a computer or a higher developed sense of virtual reality out there – think again.
RIP! What the hell? RIP??? At least have the patience and courtesy to type out Rest In Peace (or pieces whatever your equation with the soul that was…) I mean, really??? And why should this soul ‘RIP’? Maybe – the soul was a peaceful person all his life and now wants to spook himself out or let the devils in him free. Be crazy? Be nasty? Be a mischief monger? Be a detective of sorts to sort out his or her life’s happenings in this afterlife as ‘the soul’. A theoretical hypothesis, of course – for as I mentioned, I haven’t had an afterlife or a reincarnation experience that I can remember at the moment! One way or the other, what gives you the right to tell the soul to rest in peace or go have fun out there? Let go. Set free. But anyway – it’s probably your way of grieving.
Grief is real. Grieving is needed. Not just for you, but for the family of the departed one, too. Give them their privacy. Or share in the pain. But do it for the living – for those who have gone aren’t going to come back.
An obituary is great! Go on – plan and inform the ones who need to know. But if there was anything you needed to convey to the soul – sorry pal – too late! You should’ve said it back then. No amounts of emotionally written sagas – shared and reshared on multiple social media platforms are likely to enter the heart of the soul.
Deal with the loss and embrace the reality of moving on… Take your time… Vent it out. But really, do you need to make a social media hoo-ha of everything. Spare death at least! Do it with dignity. For yourself. In the memory of the soul that was…
aradhnasethi 
I get what you want to say Aradhna. Those are even bolder emotions you described.
Totally agree with you on RIP, the acronym that rips more than the death. Do not say anything instead of typing RIP. Are you just washing off your hand and ticking one of the tasks done for an event that happened? It is crazy indeed.
For the news and social media, well, the harsh reality is that these were not invented to remain calm. These are the opportunity to earn. The TRPs, the hits. Imagine a calm social web. It will lose its sole purpose.
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It’ll RIP my SOUL to see people take the RIP-shortcut! I am sure I will deserve better 😉 You’re right about TRPs and the media role – but still, sensationalisation and yelling out loud (no one seems to have realised the microphones actually work!) ‘deathly facts’ that even the reporter doesn’t seem to know about is a bit off-putting. I mean, where is ‘respect’. And in less than 24 hours of her death the ‘whatsapp’ buzzes on with “Don’t drink and bathe” remarks and more… well. Well, I wish such attitudes rest in peace or simply rip at some stage sooner than later.
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