Death and Life in Egypt

The One thing I absolutely adore and rate super high in this country, is how Egyptians -especially in chaotic Cairo- do the daily dance with death as part of Life in this city..

Death is so very weaved into the culture, it's around every corner, present in every time I cross the road, every microbus or taxi ride I take, in the eyes of every street kid, the minds and hearts of every soul that traverses this mental town. 

Death is openly known here as a part of Life NOT the end of Life..

When someone dies in Egypt, they are usually buried the same day or a day latest to accommodate family. They are wrapped in cloth, prayed for, then the body's buried while the soul is left to transition to the mysterious afterlife. 

None of this storing away and sanitising bodies into morgues, hiding or preserving our quickly decaying flesh away and all the stupid secrecy we have in the west, around dead bodies.

Sadly I see a whole lot of dead animals lying on the roadside, little beings that didn't quite make it across the road dodging a death-defying driver. These bodies are often left out in the open to decay and be devoured by whoever's next in the food chain. 

While us humans passing by are blessed with a strong whiff of death - in passing - for now.

Then there's the Death of Romantic Love or Marriage and all the deluded ideas that come along with that before the reality check of actually BE-ing Married.

This notion of forever love very quickly dies after young couples marry and the veil of illusion is lifted. When they realise this one thing, they've been encouraged to achieve all their lives is so miserably overrated, soul - deadening and actually requires deep conscious attention. 

Attention that they have never ever given themselves -due to fierce family units - so how are they going to give this to another?

So, divorce rates here are at an all-time high - which is why I've chosen to mention it as a form of death. Death of the innocent eyes with which you viewed the world with, as nothing leaves a person more separated and bitterly licking their wounds than divorce. Death of the delusion that marriage is going to be a sacred, special sanctuary of 'LOVE' forever is a hard one to grieve over.

So, while there are so many things I adore about Egypt, the dance they do with death on a daily basis is truly my favourite gift. A gift that commands learnings and respect. And the irony is that most Egyptians fear death in huge ways, despite it being everywhere..

If the Western world had just an inch of this attitude I think there would be much more living going on as ultimately Death teaches us - has definitely taught me- to live life fully, wholeheartedly and authentically.

Stop wasting time with those who weigh you down, hold you back and who demand your politeness and God forbid 'niceness'. Drop those deadbeats who force you to contort, distort and disassociate your beautiful body and magical mind into painfully fucked up shapes of Oppression. Let them somehow DIE while you're Alive so that you can start to live freely and fully, maybe for the first time. 

As life really is too short, just ask any Egyptian…

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