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Farrah Fawcett dies: the spiritual sense of our personal connections
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People talk about their memories of Farah Fawcett as though they knew her personally. It could easily be said that this personal association is simply a figment of their imagination. Even if this is so – that in fact their association is in their imagination - does that make people’s feelings or sense of connectivity to someone they do not really know any less personal or any less real? The answer is no. What we experience psychologically is the first and last reality. We can experience nothing except through the psyche.
It was Arthur Schopenhauer who said that a human being’s capacity for sympathy is what makes a person a human being. Certainly, beyond all else right now - people are sympathizing with the death of Farrah Fawcett. Their sympathy cannot denigrated. What they are experiencing is real with equally real effects.
In a sense, celebrities become household members – familiars – in the hearts and minds of those whom they affect. It is as though, in some sense, a small part of people’s self-concept becomes attached to the lives of celebrities like Farrah. And as such, when someone like Farrah Fawcett dies, so does a part of those whom she affected.
We are drawn to stories about death and we want hear every detail. We want to see the looks on the faces of those who are left behind to suffer the loss. We want to know every aspect of the experience. For those unreflecting on death as an inevitable personal experience, wanting to know these things may seem morbid. But to those who are aware of their unavoidable death, and who are perhaps afraid of this death, Farrah’s story is a very real matter for them.
What can people who are grieving the death Farrah Fawcett learn about themselves and their own mortality? Farrah gave those interested in her dying process very much to consider and reflect upon. In the video story of her journey to death’s doorstep, she revealed something about herself that went far beyond her famous golden tresses and red bathing suit. She approached her death with true courage: she accepted her fear and uncertainty and she let everyone watch it as she experienced it.
In the video, Farrah’s Story, her fear is palpable. She knew that she was going to die. Watching it evokes a visceral (a truly sympathetic!) response in us. In a very real sense, we get an intimation of what facing death must be like. That she did this – allowed us to see her true human nature - reflects that she knew what an empowering effect it would have. We were allowed to see into what is for most, a deeply personal and very scary situation. And in this, she is offering us something much more real than memories of a character she played. By allowing the public to bear witness to this process, she makes a divine offering to those who would see it. Death is something that all of us must eventually confront and she has shown us how to do it with courage and acceptance.
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