Death
A friend of mine recently added the traditional "100 facts about me" to his blog. Most of them were no surprise. One was though:
34. I'm afraid of death. Not the process of dying, but the state of being dead. I wonder what will happen to all my memories and experiences.
My tendencies are the opposite. I'm not at all worried about the state of being dead. My memories will be gone with the disintegration of my nervous system. That causes me no nervousness. A weak reflection of a few memories might endure in the artifacts of writings, photos, and such that I leave behind. My experiences will live in their repercussions I suppose.
I'm much more afraid of the process of dying. That I'll die slowly, enduring just pain and/or boredom. That I'll have no means of satisfying expression.