The story is about me!

“Death is only the end if you assume the story is about you.”

– Jeffrey Cranor or Jay Michaelson

The internet isn’t sure who said it first.

Either way, I hate this idea. it’s nonsense. A dumb idea. Cold comfort for anyone who worries about (or relentlessly obsesses over) the prospect of death.

Who doesn’t view themselves as the protagonist of their own story?

Do people really wake up and think, “Fear not! I’m really just a supporting character in someone else’s story.”

Or “Nothing matters! I’m just an unpaid extra, filling out the background of someone else’s more important scene.”

Or “Perhaps I’m just window dressing. Or a prop. Maybe wallpaper.”

Or “The powerful play goes on, and I may contribute a verse, and then I’ll die, which is fine. I said my peace.”

I hope not.

The story isn’t about me? Are you kidding me? The damn story is about me! When I die, the story, as far as I’m concerned, ends. Other things will happen, but I won’t see them, hear them, know them, or be a part of them.

It’s a devastating thought. Soul crushing.

It’s my story, damn it, and I don’t ever want it to end.

Did Jeffrey Cranor or Jay Michaelson really think this would make me feel any better?