Sally Mann's Stages of Human Decay

A Parallel Planets piece by Unknown

I have a secret to tell. I am my own dementor.

It was after watching The Lovely Bones when my unfortunate encounters with "the symptoms" began. I call it the downward spiral. 

It begins with a gnawing feeling inside you; eating away at the core of your being and slowly making its way to the edges. It progresses within seconds; the cold gradually seeping in like a dementor feasting on a human soul. All the happy memories begin to fade. You start asking questions with no ultimate truths in your head. Then comes the shortness of breath, the sweating, the blurry vision - the dreaded anxiety attack. 

When the panic begins, I would beg.. desperately beg for a conversation. Is there life after death? What is there to live for when your being will cease to exist? It's the silly quest of searching for evasive truths, for a purpose, for a simple affirmation that there are things beyond our own understanding.

They say that the fear of dying, or death, is an irrational one. I must have come across Sally Mann at a perfect time. The blunt poignancy in her Body Farm series has left its mark.

After battling with the seemingly indomitable monsters for quite some time, I'm just happy that they do not make their presence felt as often these days. They used to come in uninvited and break my safety walls to taunt me. Now, I choose to live.

All images are by Sally Mann, an American photographer who is best known for her black & white photographs and the artistry in her provocative images. View the full set of Body Farm here.