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Life Is The Most Precious Gift We Have As Human Beings, Deathography
Life Is The Most Precious Gift We Have As Human Beings, Deathography
Introduction
Life is the most precious gift we have as human beings; it is through the life that we poses that we get to experience all the wonders of the world. Life is also full of hardships in that everyone is prone to be faced with some sort of challenges that vary in one way or another. Life occurs in different stages which are determined by the biological structure of our bodies. Life begins when a sperm fertilizes a female egg in the ovary; this is followed with the birth of a human being. When a human being is born, they are armed with are with an immune system that helps defend the body when it comes under threat. All human beings are thus faced with the fact that they will die one day. Despite the fact that as human beings, we do not have the quality of immortality, we are tasked with the duty of preserving our human race through the maintenance of our health (Boerre, 2006).
Death can be caused by many factors some of which have proved to be inevitable. Human beings are thus at the mercy or fate of the superior being they believe in terms of protection. Human beings can also prolong their life through the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle which in turn has been known to improve the sustainability of the bodies. The loss of a loved one is one of the hardest experienced to deal with. One does not have to experience loss to feel the pain a person undergoing grief is going through. This is brought about by the quality we have as human beings that makes us vulnerable to our emotions (Family Education Network, 2010).
This research paper focuses on the deathograghy of my grandfather. It looks at the ways in which the death of my grandfather affected me as a child. It father looks at the ways in which human beings deal with death in terms of ours vulnerability to the factor.
The experienced of the loss of a loved one is a stage that we all have to go through as human beings. This involves dealing with the fact that humans cannot resurrect from death and can only be missed by their loved ones. There are many causes of death as stated earlier. The cause of a person’s death influences the way in which human beings approaches grieving. If a loved one dies a sudden and an unexpected death, the family and friends have a harder time dealing with their death in that they were not emotionally prepared for the loss of the individual. If a person has undergone a lifetime of suffering due to the condition that they were faced with, the family and friends may have an easier time adapting to the possibility of their death.
Another factor that influences the reaction to the death of a loved one is the age of the diseased. If a person loses their life at a young age, it is hard for the friends and family to cope with the loss due to the question of what could have become of the individual if they were to live a full life. If a person loses their life at an older age, they leave their relatives with memories that can be in form of a legacy which cushions the pain. Despite these factors, dealing with the loss of a loved one is never easy. Human beings have feelings which on many occasions are uncontrollable. One thus has to be given time to grieve so that they can move to the next stage which is the acceptance of death (Orbach, Gross, Glaubman, 2006).
The experience of the death of a loved one at a young age affects the way we view life in terms of positivity or negativity. As children, we are brought up in a world where our parents protect us from the evils of the world. This protection can only go on for a period of time in that there comes a time in our life where we have to face the reality. I was only seven years when I lost my grandfather. This occurred several years ago but the memories are still fresh in my mind. My grandfather was a big part of my life. My parents ensured that we had a personal relationship at a young age. The relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild is different from the relationship between a parent and a child. Parents always nag their children to give them grandchildren so that they can spoil them silly. This is one of the perks of being a senior member of the society. My grandfather and I were inseparable, his main aim was to teach me all the lessons he taught my father as a child. Our connection was thus important for my growth and development. These memories that I carry of him have influenced the way I approach certain situations to date (MedicineNet.Com, 2004).
Personal experience (deathology) of the loss of my grandfather
My grandfather was just like any regular elderly person. He was full of wisdom and was always slow but sure of the things he spoke about. My grandfather had also been battling with conditions that were caused as result of the old age. These conditions ranged from the inability of his cognitive ability to compute various facts at a faster pace. He was also prone to being attacked by high blood pressure and arthritis which affected the immune system of his body. Before his death, my grandfather had shown signs of a potential heart attack due to his weak state. The experience of his suffering made me aware that there was something wrong that I could not get around to. I thus developed some sort of fear in preparation of worse circumstances that were to follow. This shows that young people can detect when there is a problem in a household.
One day after I had taken a visit to my grandfather’s house, I carried out my daily activities that I took on with him. When it was time to go back home with my parents, I said goodbye. This goodbye was however different from the others in that it was long in nature. It may have been a symbol that I should maximize on the little time I had left with him. The look in his eyes indicated that he was going to miss me before I had left his house. When I reached home, I went to bed and work up with my parents standing next to my bed. This time they were not filled with the usual happy faces they woke me up with in the morning. At this point, I could tell that something was wrong compared to the previous times he fell sick. My parents thus changed their tone and told me to sit down. This was shocking due to the fact that I was already sitting down. My dad then started telling me a story on how sometimes people live their homes to go to a better place. I then cut his story short by demanding to know what was really wrong. They then told me that my beloved grandfather had passed away five hours after I had left his house. I immediately went into a state of shock that was accompanied with a lot of screaming seeing that I was a child. I was not familiar with the concept of death at this age, what made me react this way was the fact that I knew that he was not coming back again. This was made possible by the story my father told me about my grandfather going to heaven.
Research shows that there are various stages of reaction to the death of a loved one. The first stage is denial where we go into a state that makes us think what is happening is not real or just a dream (Koocher, 2002). I then told myself that everything was going to be okay, this was accompanied with the thoughts I had of meeting him the next time I go to visit.
The second stage one goes through after the loss of a loved one is the grief stage. This involves dealing with the situation by recognizing that a loved one will not be coming back. This is accompanied by the shedding of tears due to the intensity of the pain that a mourner has. The time it takes for a person to grieve varies with the person, the cause of death, the age of the diseased and lastly the support of the friends and family of an individual (Hois, 2001). When I realized that my grandfather was really gone, I cried for about a week remembering all the precious time we spent together. This was a very difficult time for me due to the fact that I was a child who was used to getting what I wanted. Learning that I could not get everything I wanted was a new experience for me in that I knew that I would have to face other challenges in life. Another factor that I dealt with was the realization that my parents and siblings were not going to be around forever as I had imagined. This opened doors for a new source of fear which I later termed the fear of the unexpected (Sengendo & Nambi, 2001).
The last stage in dealing with the loss of a loved one is the acceptance of the death. This involves accepting the reality of the situation at hand. It also involves a deeper appreciation of the loved one and the value they brought to your life. This also involves moving forward as a human being and looking forward to the positive things life brings (Souza & Klein, 2001). I took two weeks to accept that my grandfather was gone forever. This acceptance was not complete in that I would occasionally breakdown when I remembered him. Accepting the death of my grandfather also meant that I had become a more mature person despite being only seven yours old. I could thus approach the difficult situations in life with more maturity due to the hard time I had gone through.
The loss of a loved one affects the immediate friends and family for the worst or on some occasions the better. Some children have been known to blame themselves for a death of a loved one in that they are suspicious at a young age. This type of situation is not ideal for the health of a child in that it affects the proper development of the child in terms of self esteem and confidence. It also makes a child approach all the difficulties they come across in their lives with a negative point of view as opposed to being positive. Children who have lost loved ones at an early age tend to act out more often than not due to the constant need of attention from the people who surround them. It is thus important to ensure that the proper stages of grieving are followed though the use of counseling from the family or a professional (Boerre, 2006).
Conclusion
Death is inevitable to all the living things that walk on the face of this earth. Human beings are therefore tasked with the responsibility of living a healthy and full lifestyle. This involves being positive even though one is faced with hardships. One of the ways that makes the acceptance of the death of a person easier is the knowing that the person was happy and enjoyed their life to the fullest. Another way that human beings can go about this situation is the appreciation for the life they still have due to the fact that it is not a permanent gift.
References
Boerre, G. (2006) Jean Piaget. Personality Theories. Retrieved August 18, 2011
from http ://webspacg.sh ip.edu/csSmee, Clive. (2000). “Department of Health Special Section: Reconsidering the Role of Competition in Health Care Markets”. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 25 (5): 945–951
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2010) Death. Retrieved August 18, 2011
from http ://www. merriam-webster.com/d dictionary/death
MedicineNet.Com (2004) Grief. Retrieved August 18, 2011
from http ://wwv.medicinenet.com/script/main/art. asp? Article key: 83 860
Family Education Network (2010) ‘Helping Your Child Deal with the Death of a Parent’.
Retrieved August 18, 2011 from http://lifb.familyeducation.com/death-and-dying/toddler/53 891.html
Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple Intelligence: New Horizons, New York, Basic Books.
Hois, S. (2001) Effects of Separation and Loss on Children’s Development.
Retrieved August, 20 I 1 from http: //www. Nurturing parenting commit research validation/ effects_separation_and_loss.pdf
Hughes, D. L. (2007). “Universal coverage in the land of smiles: lessons from Thailand’s 30 baht health reforms”. Health Affairs, 26 (4): 999–1008.
Munir, F. (2005)’Muslim Understanding of Death’. Alkalirna, 7 (l).
Koocher, G. (2002) ‘Discussing Death with Children’. Children Today, l9-37.
Kornhaber, L., Fierros, G., Veneema, A. (2004). Multiple Intelligence: Ideas from Research and Practice, Pearson / Allyn and Bacon Publishers.
Kr”rbler-Ross, E. (1969). On Death ancl Dying. New York: McMillan.
Orbach, I., Gross, Y., and Glaubman, H. (2006) ‘Children’s Perception of Death in Humans and animals as a Function of Age, Anxiety, and Cognitive Ability’. Journal of Child
Psychology and Psychiatry, 26(3), 453-463.
Sengendo, J. and Nambi, J. (2001)’ the psychological effect of orphan hood: a study of orphans In Rakai district’. Health Transition Review, 105- 4
Shanks. N.H. (2007). Introduction to Health Care Management. Johns & Bartlett Publishers.
Souza, P. and Klein, D. (2001). Child Mental Health in Sonoma Country Family Action
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Natiorial Institute of Health Patient Intimation Publications (2006) Talking Children about Death, p. l-14.
Life insurance is basically a contract between an insurer who is the policy giver and the insured who is the policy holder.
Life insurance
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Life insurance is basically a contract between an insurer who is the policy giver and the insured who is the policy holder. The insurer promises to pay a fortune to the insured upon his/her death in exchange of agreed premium payments from the client. The contract which is negotiable depends on other external factors that influence payment such as the current health conditions of the individual, particularly on issues to do with terminal illness.
These contracts are legally binding with written specifics concerning the limitations and extensions of liability on the insured events. The liability of the insurer may be limited in cases such as suicide where the contract may be ruled null and void. Such special exclusions will wholly depend on the time agreement between the two parties or the statutes of the locality where the contract was enforced.
Mortality tables are used to calculate policy prices given by the insurer with keen actuarial studies on probability of death occurrences and statistics. Some of the variables also used by insurers are gender and age. Age indeed is considered an important variable of interest as rates rises with age.
In an event of the death of the insured, the claim can only be settled upon provision of an authentic death certificate as objective evidence with additional investigations by the insurer on the cause of death. When all these are proved, the insurer will now have an obligation to settle the claim with the beneficiaries, either on annuity payment or lump sum.
Types of life insurance
Life insurance policies may either be temporary or permanent. Temporary provisions are those that cover up to an agreed period while permanent are those that remain active throughout the policy holder’s life unless defaults in payments of premium occur; where your cover will be terminated with no refunds. Under temporary and permanent, life insurances is also divided into the following subclasses: universal, endowment, term and whole life insurances.
Universal life coverage is a permanent coverage with flexible premium payments and death benefits. Flexible death benefit is where the insured can chose to reduce or increase the death benefit. This cover is also less expensive when compared to whole life policy.
Endowment life insurance is a cover linked to an agreed age known as the endowment age. The value of the policy is equated to benefits on death at a certain age. Endowments are temporary and are paid out at the specified age whether the policy holder outlives or dies. Compared to whole life or universal life, endowments are expensive due to the shortened periods.
Term life insurance offers a cover to a specified period with factors such as length of cover, premium to be paid and the lump sum amount, taken into great account. Term life insurance can also be renewable depending on agreements.
Whole life cover is a permanent life cover with benefits provided at death. The premiums payments are constant throughout depending on earlier quotations at the onset of the contract. This policy accumulates your cash reserves from investments made by the insurer using your premiums. The interests from these investments can be used to settle your remaining premiums or be reinvested upon your consent. When compared to term, payment of benefits in this policy occurs upon regardless of age.
Despite the lack of efficacy in claim settlements by some insurers or breach of contract upon complexities, life cover is an investment worth taking to financially protect your loved ones in your absence.
References.
Maclean, J. B. (1962). Life insurance (9th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.Steuer, A. (2010). Questions and answers on life insurance: the life insurance tool book (3rd Ed.). Alameda, CA: Life Insurance Sage Press.
LIFE INSURANCE
Life Insurance
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Insurance is a pledge or guarantee for a specific potential loss in future which is characterized by exchange for periodic payment. The purpose of insurance is to guard the financial well-being as well as interest of a company, individual or any other entity which could be affected in the case of potential and unexpected loss in future. Insurance vary in types, some are requirements of the laws of particular states while others are optional. Insurance types vary from car, health, business, disability as well as life insurance among others. This paper seeks to analyze life insurance as an individual entity.
Life insurance is a guarantee for the future loss of life by an individual. In modern society, life insurance is a core prerequisite for an individual as well as the associated beneficiaries. By reaching a rational agreement to the terms and conditions of an insurance policy, this creates a non binding or binding contract between the insurer and the insured. More often than not, this is in exchange for premiums (payments made by the insured). Life insurance therefore plays a major role in protecting an individual and his/her respective beneficiary in the form of next of kin.
Features of life insurance vary greatly depending on the type of government. In federal governments however, the following are salient features of life insurance. First is that, one can take loans and make early withdrawals without penalty. This feature makes the funds accessible in times of need. The second feature is that, premium or individual member withdrawals may be tax free. This ensures a reduction in the tax burden and therefore brings forth a cheap option of accessing money as well as benefits of a life insurance. These features among others ensure that an insured individual lives a life free of day to day stress.
Life insurance has a number of advantages. The first benefit is asset protection. This is considered the core benefit of life insurance. This benefit caters for the financial benefits and interests of one’s family. Life insurance products have strong inherent proposition for wealth creation. A customer of life insurance therefore has investment options provided for by the insurer. This feature therefore provides a sense of security.
Secondly, it allows for savings based on goals. Conventionally, every individual has goals in life. Some of these goals can only be achieved through objective based savings. These savings could play fundamental roles of education, construction as well as meeting future planned and unplanned for events. Therefore, life insurance savings help the insured to meet future needs.
Third is that it provides for protection against the ever rising health and health related expenses. With the ever straining global economy characterized by increased standards and expenditure on basic human needs. The safest way to safeguard the future is by obtaining life insurance which might in future cater for unexpected health expenses. This therefore reduces future unexpected expenditures in catering of basic needs.
Finally, life insurance allows for growth through dividends. This is achieved by the fact that every end of a financial year, the insurance provider gives back to the stakeholders in the forms of bonus and dividends. This provides a boost economically to life insurance stakeholders and thus improves their quality of life as well as their living standards.
Life insurance therefore is a fundamental aspect of human life. It allows for asset protection in case of future unexpected events. Through asset protection, the implication is that social as well as economic protection is guaranteed. It also allows for goal based savings. These savings more often than not cater for future unexpected expenditures. It supplements for the ever rising health related expenditures which reduces the burden of unnecessarily spending too much on a health issue that could otherwise been dealt with using cheaper means. Through annual stakeholder bonus and dividends, life insurance boosts the living standards of individual stakeholders.
References
Berwick, G. (2007). The Executives guide to insurance and risk Management. Australia: Fastbooks Publishers
Koller, M. (2011). Life Insurance Risk Management Essentials, London, U.K: Springer Publishers