On her status update, a Lent-observing friend on FB sent out a reminder that “we are dust and to dust we shall return”. It reminded me of one of the Five Remembrances … “I am of the nature to die. I cannot escape death”. Reflecting on the swift, temporary nature of life on this earth might leave you cold. But stop. Think for a minute. What does it mean to live a life that will stop?
soul brought to heaven ~ bouguereau
Its something we habitually forget, our own death. Meditating or thinking reflectively about death isn’t as morbid as it may sound. The paradox is that reflecting on death brings a sharper focus, a deeper awareness of life. We suddenly remember how astonishing it is to be alive. Awareness of death is the jolt into awareness we sometimes need … the reminder to live, today … to be here, now.
Stephen Batchelor asks this stimulating question for reflection:
Since death alone is certain
and the time of death uncertain,
what then should I do?
Death is certain. I will die. I could live an average number of days or I could breathe my last today. I don’t know when my last breathe will be, only that it will be. Reflecting on the question, what should I do? shatters the dullness of a self-medicated existence. It calls me from the shallows of habitual patterns back into the depths of an engaged experience of living. It doesn’t just change my thoughts, it changes my experience of my life, it changes my perception of the day’s events, it changes my actions and responses. Reflecting on my death awakens me to my life.
"You talked about the first principle again, but I still don't know what it is," I said to Suzuki.
Beautifully put ‘Twi’ — the’old yogis always had a meditation where they took themselves to the cremation location on the Ganges and sat amongst death so-to-speak. but it’s all about our ‘learning to let go’ every ay we die to one way of being/doing/seeing or another…. great post — Mahalo
Very well written, Twila! As I recently experienced the death of a very close friend, I have been thinking about how we really need to treasure the life we know in the hear and now. . . as tomorrow is not promised and this moment is a gift. Thanks for writing and sharing!
Blessings, C.
Hi Paul! Learning to let go…yes. Letting go is freeing. Mahalo back atcha!
Hey Cordie. So glad you came by…I lost your website, so was glad to have it again. So sorry for your loss. I found that the reflection I had given to death helped me tremendously when my dear father died almost 2 years ago. Losing someone we love is an awesome and heart-rending conclusion to the transience of all life. Like you, my desire is to awaken to the life I have here, now.
I love your thoughts on reflecting on death. We achieve so much by remembering that this is but a temporary vehicle that we inhabit and that our stop will arrive and we will embark on yet another leg of our journey. Death is for sure as is living in this moment.
Thank you, tobeme. Just flew past your site and fell in love. Will definitely be back.
Though some might think the topic depressing, like you, in recent years, I find it enlivening. Perhaps it was the teachings I took from the Dalai Lama where he kept emphasizing this “one precious life.” Along with the Buddhist belief that it is a rare gift to be born as a human, accessible to the dharma. I believe this. So, like you, my day (usually…) is focused on what is here for me today, what can I give, how can I reach out to others–even through a few simple words on a blog. We do not need to move mountains to be fully alive and contributing to the well-being of the planet. Your words here testify to that…They uplift and inspire. Blessings to you!
Hi Jan! I hope you are enjoying Florida. Wish you were closer…I would have loved to come to your conference.
And your “few simple words on a blog” have been life-savers for me. (and many others) Thank YOU so much for your labor of love at Awake is Good and Awakened Living.
contemplating death every day i do find myself more fully alive… rather than feeling morbid it feels more like moving past the “death is dark and bad” and life is “light and good” to a place of gratitude for each moment now… how much would anyone savor any moment in their life if they knew it never came to an end? … it is the temporary nature of life that gives us that sense of urgency to live every minute to its fullest…
i love seeing your profile photo, by the way
many blessings to you…
Hi Joanne! I like your new web site. Sorry I haven’t been by as much…busy, busy with school. I really liked your guest piece on Jan’s meditation challenge, too. (awake is good)
hi twila!… i didn’t know you were in school!! … i’ve missed out on an important update in your life, obviously!… i would love to hear about it…
i came back here tonight (late) because something about my comment before left me a bit unsettled… as if it implied that death for me is so simple, wrapped up tidy with a bow… of course it is the hallmark of a wonderfully written post that makes a person pause and really consider, and so i wanted to come back and just add to those thoughts a bit…
death gives life its urgency… its meaning… and so in this way i am grateful for it… especially when you have seen the effects of pain and physical suffering to the extreme it seems death is also a relief… but of course it is the one final unknown… the journey we really must make alone with no one who has gone before to help us understand how it’s all going to unfold… so we do cling to life with all that we have and all that we desire, because it seems safer somehow… at least it’s something we know a little bit about… there are times i am so overcome with the thought of an ending to this life i am brought to tears for all that i would miss here, and all that i don’t know about “there”… and it is even more amplified when i contemplate the death of others i love…
but… it is these thoughts that bring me back to this moment right here right now… what am i missing?… what did i let just slip by without notice?… how can i do better…
Joanne – thanks for your further thoughts…I think the thing that pricks me most is thinking on what it means to “live a life that will stop”. To think that way, to stop being fooled into feeling like life will go on and on indefinitely. Or maybe a better word would be infinitely. Life stops. At least the life we know – the here, now life. Sometimes I think I should put “Hey! You there! You live a life that will stop!” on little post-its and paste them all over until I stop forgetting!