Firefighter here. I was reflecting on a fatality I attended recently. My thoughts wandered to how a body looks like it is ‘just matter’ in a way that a living thing does not, even when sleeping. Previously I assumed this observation was just something to do with traumatic death, but this person seemed to have died peacefully and the same, ‘absence’ of something was obvious.
I’m not a religious person, but it made me wonder if there actually is something that ‘leaves’ when someone dies (beyond the obvious breathing, pulse etc).
I’m not looking for a ‘my holy book says’, kind of discussion here, but rather a reflection on the direct, lived experiences of people who see death regularly.
They smell putrefaction.
It starts immediately when life has ended. It doesn’t wait for days, or hours, out of decency or so…
TIL the word “purification”. Thank you!
Edit: putrification (damn autocorrect, and it’s still underlined in red).
Edit: putrefaction (sigh)
I admire your tenacity.
That’s where “putrid,” mostly used ime to describe a rotten smell, but also applicable to the morals of your least favorite politician, comes from