Because we live in a material world, many of us believe wholly in that world, and specifically believe that who and what we really are, must correctly be represented by their physical body as well as by their mind. This thus means for those of that mindset that we all live in a very fatalistic place, for none that are born here are ever able to escape the law that those that are birthed into this world, must at some point, die; some sooner and some later.
Further to the point, if we only are physical beings, just as animals are physical creatures, then the death of a human being or of an animal must therefore be the annihilation of that person or animal, forever. This is something that quite obviously is rather foreboding and presupposes the question, that should be investigated, which is whether or not we should believe in the construct that we are nothing but physical beings, for if we are not, physical death is not only unavoidable, but it is also something to be rightly feared, for in a world such as that, death represents the annihilation of our body as well as of our mind.
On the other hand, it must be understood that it is not conceivable that our origin came from nothing, for out of nothing comes forth nothing -- for nothing can never create something, for this is a logical fallacy to think so. This thus means that our origin never began from nothing; that is to say, before we were formed in our mother's womb, we must have for a certainty, already existed in some other form and therefore our birth into this material world, represents in actuality the opportunity to live and to die in this world, so as to experience the myriad aspects of this world, and to actively engage in our relationship with others that are here alongside of us.
This also signifies that once we are aware that we are not just our physical bodies and not just our mind, but rather we are something beyond such, usually represented by the acknowledgment that we have an immortal soul, of which, that soul is not subject to the slings and arrows of time and finiteness; if becomes much easier to see this world as well as our life as something to be lived in a manner in which we are cognizant that our true reality is limitless, rather than limited.
As sad as physical death may be, whether unexpected, unwelcomed or not, it is alas, the nature of life on this earth; in which, even those that live to a very long age, must at sometime, succumb to the inevitably that each physical body only has a finite amount of years, before such a body will have worn itself out and thereby expires. This means that it is incumbent upon each one of us to recognize that we are housed within a physical body, subject to time and limitations as well as the laws of this planet, all in reality, to truly test our mettle of who and what we actually represent, and that those that do well and are true to the Highest Law, see physical death not as annihilation, but rather as the liberation from the restricting prison of this dimension.