Death

The process of falling asleep is an exercise in dying

Let me tell you about the first time I died. I passed out. I was experiencing motion sickness and nearly vomited within the first two hours of playing No Man’s Sky. It really felt like dying. I often stumbled to the bathroom gagging to vomit but nothing would come out. I had to take frequent rests but I was persistent to keep playing (because I know the nausea will go away once I get used to it). Later on in the evening, tired and dizzy, I just passed out — leaving my character inside a cabin station as I dozed off through the night — my PS4 running with the game still on.

The next morning I opened up the console and saw my gravestone.

Well now I know better. Before going afk or passing out, make sure to be inside your ship!

I felt bad because one of my goals was to finish the game without dying. I stared at my spinning gravestone for a moment, picked up what I had left behind and resumed playing. I was glad I can still continue the game. Happy to be alive again.

Now imagine if we could do this in real life. To experience dying as just a matter of going through a temporary bout of pain, dizziness, tiredness, sleepiness, etc etc and then just ‘wake up' the next day and say, “Oh, I died yesterday, ‘wonder what I missed!” And then go onwards with life and all.

Somehow, I go through some kind of death everyday or every night. The process of falling asleep is an exercise in dying. Thoughts gradually become dim until blackness, peace, and Nothingness sets in. [I don’t even get to know what nothingness is because I am in it for a while]. And then I wake up to another day, and life goes on.

But I know that one day there’ll be that final dreamless sleep that I will never wake up from.

Until then, won’t you come play with me? :)