In the basic fear of old age， man has two verysound reasons for his apprehension—one growingout of his distrust of his fellowman， who may seizewhatever worldly goods he may possess， and theother arising from the terrible pictures of the worldbeyond， which were planted in his mind， throughsocial heredity before he came into full possessionof his mind.
The possibility of ill health， which is morecommon as people grow older， is also a contributingcause of this common fear of old age. Eroticismalso enters into the cause of the fear of old age， asno man cherishes the thought of diminishing sexattraction.
The most common cause of fear of old age isassociated with the possibility of poverty. “Poorhouse”
is not a pretty word. It throws a chill into the mind ofevery person who faces the possibility of having tospend his declining years on a poor farm.
Another contributing cause of the fear of old age， isthe possibility of loss of freedom and independence，as old age may bring with it the loss of both physicaland economic freedom.
SYMPTOMS OF THE FEAR OF OLD AGE
The commonest symptoms of this fear are：
The tendency to slow down and develop an inferiority complex at the age of mental maturity，around the age of forty， falsely believing one’s selfto be “slipping” because of age. （The truth is thatman’s most useful years， mentally and spiritually，are those between forty and sixty）.
The habit of speaking apologetically of one’s selfas “being old” merely because one has reached theage of forty， or fifty， instead of reversing the rule andexpressing gratitude for having reached the age ofwisdom and understanding.
The habit of killing off initiative， imagination， andself-reliance by falsely believing one’s self too oldto exercise these qualities. The habit of the man orwoman of forty dressing with the aim of trying toappear much younger， and affecting mannerisms ofyouth； thereby inspiring ridicule by both friends andstrangers.
THE FEAR OF DEATH
To some this is the cruelest of all the basic fears.
The reason is obvious. The terrible pangs of fearassociated with the thought of death， in the majorityof cases， may be charged directly to religiousfanaticism. So-called “heathen” are less afraid ofdeath than the more “civilized.” For hundreds ofmillions of years man has been asking the stillunanswered questions， “whence” and “whither.”
Where did I come from， and where am I going？
During the darker ages of the past， the morecunning and crafty were not slow to offer the answerto these questions， FOR A PRICE. Witness， now， themajor source of origin of the FEAR OF DEATH.
“Come into my tent， embrace my faith， accept mydogmas， and I will give you a ticket that will admityou straightaway into heaven when you die，” criesa leader of sectarianism. “Remain out of my tent，” says the same leader， “and may the devil take youand burn you throughout eternity.”
ETERNITY is a long time. FIRE is a terrible thing.
The thought of eternal punishment， with fire， notonly causes man to fear death， it often causes him tolose his reason. It destroys interest in life and makeshappiness impossible.
During my research， I reviewed a book entitled“A Catalogue of the Gods，” in which were listed the30，000 gods which man has worshiped. Think of it！
Thirty thousand of them， represented by everythingfrom a crawfish to a man. It is little wonder that menhave become frightened at the approach of death.
While the religious leader may not be able toprovide safe conduct into heaven， nor， by lack ofsuch provision， allow the unfortunate to descend intohell， the possibility of the latter seems so terrible thatthe very thought of it lays hold of the imagination insuch a realistic way that it paralyzes reason， and setsup the fear of death.
In truth， NO MAN KNOWS， and no man has everknown， what heaven or hell is like， nor does anyman know if either place actually exists. This verylack of positive knowledge opens the door of thehuman mind to the charlatan so he may enter andcontrol that mind with his stock of legerdemain andvarious brands of pious fraud and trickery.
The fear of DEATH is not as common now as it wasduring the age when there were no great collegesand universities. Men of science have turned thespotlight of truth upon the world， and this truth israpidly freeing men and women from this terriblefear of DEATH. The young men and young womenwho attend the colleges and universities are noteasily impressed by “fire” and “brimstone.” Throughthe aid of biology， astronomy， geology， and otherrelated sciences， the fears of the dark ages whichgripped the minds of men and destroyed their reasonhave been dispelled.
Insane asylums are filled with men and women whohave gone mad， because of the FEAR OF DEATH.
This fear is useless. Death will come， no matterwhat anyone may think about it. Accept it as anecessity， and pass the thought out of your mind.
It must be a， necessity， or it would not come to all.
Perhaps it is not as bad as it has been pictured.
The entire world is made up of only two things，ENERGY and MATTER. In elementary physics welearn that neither matter nor energy （the only tworealities known to man） can be created nor destroyed.
Both matter and energy can be transformed， butneither can be destroyed.
Life is energy， if it is anything. If neither energynor matter can be destroyed， of course life cannotbe destroyed. Life， like other forms of energy， maybe passed through various processes of transition，or change， but it cannot be destroyed. Death is meretransition.
If death is not mere change， or transition， thennothing comes after death except a long， eternal，peaceful sleep， and sleep is nothing to be feared.
Thus you may wipe out， forever， the fear of Death.