Death: what is your reaction to it?

I know how I react to it. To my surprise not many have actually thought about it. Some how the nowadays way of living lets people think that death is not a part of it. It is so funny! Really people! Wake up! Death is as natural as giving birth. We are all going to die at some point. Some of us will die by their own hand, some by accident, some of disease and others by old age. I am lucky to have seen people die of old age, with some disease with them, but ultimately the reason has been the old age. I have also seen people die because of some disease, usually cancer, and being bed ridden for many months before dying. I have also seen dead people, as in my religion it is custom that the casket is open during funeral. 

I have followed couple of discussion lately and they have this fear of death part of it. Mainly I blame the current society for it. People are not spending time with their elderly, and have "forgotten" that getting old and dying is part of life. In US there is this trend that people go to have some nip tuck when they feel they are getting old. I remember the many talks that I had with my grandmother about what she wanted to do before dying and what her funeral should be like. Unfortunately she did not write those down, and I was not listened to, so her funeral was not what she wanted. Basically I already know that if I want to have certain type of funeral I need to write very specific instructions and have them allocated to a person who can follow through. 

These discussions and the fact that I have visited my grandparents regularly has kept my feet in the ground and I am very well aware what awaits me when I get old. Well how about a sudden accident or disease? Those are something that people can't that well be prepared for. I might be a bit different as I have already from very early on been able to imagine myself and my family members in situations like these. They are not pleasant things to be thinking about, but my imagination has kept me very well prepared. So if a family member or a friend would suddenly die for some reason, I would not be shocked. If I would get the news that I would die soon, I would not be shocked. I just hope that it won't happen, but most likely before I die I will have attended to a funeral or two. 

I know that most people do have this healthy reaction and awareness of death, but since it has been made to be this big tabu, people are not talking about it. I have talked about it with my Aunt and she has told me that her then husband was really uncomfortable with the death discussion. To us it is very important discussion that needs to be had if you are in a relationship. But it is something that if I see people are not comfortable or willing to talk about death, I will not force it. I just wish that people would be more open about it. Maybe then assisted suicide i.e. euthanasia would be more acceptable.