That good night: gift or punishment?

[Gurthang]

Well, I've read through the thread, and there is so much that I would love to agree or disagree with that I don't know where to begin.

First off, people have said that 'death' is either a gift or a curse. Well, that's a matter of view, and that view not of only death, but also how life is looked at.

Life is a gift. That cannot be taken for granted. But since there is an afterlife, death is also a gift. You could almost see it as a move. You pick up, take all important things with you, leave some things behind, and go to a new place. Some people hate moving, and are even afraid to replant themselves. They would see it as a curse. Others see that it's like a fresh start, a new experience that can be fun.

But the people who think of death as a curse are like that because they believe that here(life) is better than there(afterlife). They value their current life over whatever may be after death. People who are unafraid of death usually believe that there is something better beyond the passing. Some even look forward to when they will die, because of anticipation of what comes next.

This is where the line is drawn between those who believe death is a curse and those who believe it is a gift. In Middle-Earth, death brings a man closer to Eru. This is probably a better place than Middle-Earth is, so it should be looked forward to, because it is an escape from bad to good. But the people who are attached to their life in Middle-Earth will scorn death because they think they are already in the better place.