When faced with death, can we ever be truly prepared?
Elie Wiesel, a survivor of the concentration camps during World War II, is regarded by countless people as a symbol of reflection on humanity and concern for suffering. His first autobiographical work, "Night" (La Nuit), recorded his horrific experiences in the concentration camps with profound and personal prose. It is a work that explores human despair and an important historical document for studying Nazi Germany. For ten years after World War II, he was unable to write about his horrific experiences in the concentration camps because he could not find the right words to describe that ineffable pain and despair.
Elie Wiesel ©Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Charitable Foundation (Armenia), 2025
Through his continuous writing and speeches, he reminded humanity not to forget history and to pay attention to the plight of Jews and other persecuted groups, such as the tragedies of Armenians, Darfuris, and Kurds. His efforts were recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, making him a spokesperson for peace and human rights. However, this sage who spoke out in times of suffering faced the fragility of life again in his later years due to heart disease.
During this time, he wrote "Open Heart," a book recording his thoughts and feelings when he might be facing his last day, those inner self-reflections and contemplations on life. After reading it, a question was also left in my heart: "Can we truly prepare for the arrival of death? Whether it's our own death or the death of others, can we truly achieve no regrets?"
Last October, while traveling in Taiwan with a friend, I participated in an immersive theater experience about death. It was a simulated transit station for life's final journey, a liminal space between life and death. The entire experience felt like a practice for death: preparing for it, experiencing it, and then being reborn. In this process, the "driftwood" guided you to contemplate questions you might have never touched upon—about the imagination and preparation for death.
In "Open Heart," a wise man from the Jewish legal tradition is quoted as saying: "Live as if you might die tomorrow." Whether it's the wisdom conveyed in the book or the experience of that theater, both inspired me to repeatedly ponder this question: "Do I truly live my life with such an attitude?" and "Can I not be afraid of death?" However, even a sage like Wiesel, who lived alongside death, admitted to still feeling fear when facing it. My fear, it seems, has no need for纠结. Wiesel wrote in the book: "Faith, gratitude, and love are the weapons against hopelessness in moments of despair in life." This sentence is like a glimmer of light, gently illuminating our loneliness and confusion when facing death and the unknown.
Furthermore, the title and design of this book are also thought-provoking, referring not only to the "open" in heart surgery but also symbolizing the courage to face life and death with an open attitude. Wiesel's words and life experiences not only provide answers but also leave a question: when we truly open our hearts to feel the beauty and brevity of life, can we gain the courage to face the end?