Day 315, Friday, November 15, 2024
Reflection
Inspiration
Love – whether it be romantic, maternal, or friendship – works as a soothing balm on the deep fear caused by the awareness of death. In the snug bosom of my parents’ love, I was unaware of my own mortality. With the caring of my family and comfort of my home, I was clueless about life’s temporariness.
By the time I got married to the love of my life, I was conscious of my own demise but could easily put that thought at the back of my mind. Death was something that happened to others – old and sick people.
My husband’s love made me forget the ephemerality of life, and in his company, I keep my death at bay. Through the love of our daughters and grandchildren, I feel that I will continue to live through them. A good band-aid for the fear of death.
Love of my close family members and good friendships helps me bring the present moment alive. Just to think that I’m alive experiencing life fills me with awe. Doesn’t death have a redemptive quality? One comes to mind. Without the knowledge of my own death, I may not seek deeper meaning. I may live a shallow life. Earnest Becker said that death forces us to respond to life better. What do you think?
Journal Prompt
Do you push the thought of death to the back of your mind or do you confront it? Write a dialogue between death and yourself in which you freely ask all the questions you have and allow death to respond sincerely.
Today’s Practice
Meditation: “Gratitude”
Read, reflect, and journal.
Lorraine
What an interesting prompt! A dialogue with death…
As I age, the reality and awareness of death has heightened. I don’t fear death – but I’m not ready to take that journey either. What the future holds seems to weigh on me more these days – probably due to world events and watching friends/family struggle through the aging/illness process. A lot to think about this morning.
Madhu B. Wangu
Good morning Lorraine,
That’s a healthy response. As for me, we now live in an environment though vibrant and cheerful is populated with more people who are elderly, disabled and facing different ailments than anywhere we’ve ever lived before. But you know what, it has made my husband and I more conscious of transitory nature of our life. We live more mindfully. A certain poignancy has emerged in our relationship. It’s tenderness is inexpressible.
Eckie Friar
Today’s post has touched a deep chord in my mind and heart. I lost my beloved father at an early age. Being with him as he transpired and seeing the peace on his countenance taught me a different lesson about death than what others view as tragic. I felt a sense of loss, however I also believed and still do that he lives on in a much greater capacity than the limited, vulnerable, chancy human form. I do not think of death as a tragedy, but rather as a way of escaping time and the karmic cycle. I am always taken aback by how otherwise spiritually aware people are not comfortable with any mention of death and dying! Thank you for today’s beautifully expressed post! Eckie Friar
Jenn Diamond
Good morning, Madhu. I love your expression of tender love between you and your husband. I’m entering a new era of my life. No longer “in charge” of my children’s health, I’m learning to let go of the hyper vigilance of caring for a child with a potentially fatal form of epilepsy. He is his own health-care advocate now. That’s my greatest fear, I think… death of a child. I arrogantly say I’m not afraid of my own death, but I’ve never faced it. Time to have a conversation with Death, just the two of us. Namaste
Madhu B. Wangu
Namaste Jenn,
How beautifully you have expressed your sentiments, Jenn. When my brother died in a motorbike accident at age 39 my parents were devastated and within eighteen months of his death they too passed away. They were in their late seventies. All of us, their children were helpless in our misery. But time passed. Suffering passes and we continue to live as we must. I have learned that keeping the thought of death closer to our heart is a healthier way to live. May you live a long happy, healthy and peaceful life!
Madhu B. Wangu
Namaste Eckie,
So good to see you here! Your touching and profound sentiments are great to contemplate upon.I believe the subject of death and dying is an integral part of a spiritual life. Where would an authentic life be without the inevitable fact of death or suffering!
Thank you, dear! Hope to see you more often here.