Death evokes such fear in us, here in America. What is it we are afraid of? Dr Seuss once said, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." It's a great way of overcoming the attachments we make in life that appear to be so real...could there be a greater Oneness than temporary form? I, for one, choose to think so, to feel so, to experience so. And not only does it make me profoundly grateful for e...very moment I have with you in body and conversation, but it allows me to have little fear of death. I live as fully in spirit as in form right now. I know myself as a spiritual being. Mind - Body - Spirit. I visit with my departed loved ones right now. When I feel the grief and fear of their loss, the physical pain that overcomes me without any apparent physical cause, I know that it is the tension of our human experience in body and spirit, and I choose to change the perspective on our relationship; to LOVE them all the more clearly in formlessness, in spirit. It's a different way of seeing things, and it sure keeps me smiling because it happened.
We die a thousand deaths every day, yet live on....Life is like that. It lives on. Beyond all the attachments, beyond every letting go...We ache with pain at how we miss the ones we love and lose. Yet, truth be told, they have not left us. We came from Oneness and we depart to Oneness. And if we are quiet enough while here, we know that we have never been separated. Death is a transition of Life. The more we understand it - illuminate the illusion of darkness it brings - the more fully we Live.
This is a wonderful essay written by a fellow Kansas-Citian with terminal prostate cancer. He brings up another very important way to approach what we fear - love into it. Embrace it. Denying our fears and foibles holds fear outside the walls of our castle. It severs our relationship with everything that is fearful, most importantly, our own inner being. We cannot find reconciliation with Self, with God, or with others if we have
built a wall between our heart and fear.
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18
Love is vulnerable and courageous in vulnerability. Love is humble, not defensive. Love remembers her identity in relationship - spiritual, mindful and bodily - and she finds ways to offer her hospitality and balance to the entire human experience. So while we are able, in our mind of consciousness, to choose how Love's hospitality will look and feel and express itself, be aware of your fear and don't let it control or numb your experience of Life!
Ashes to Ashes, but First Put a Nice Pine Box - NYTimes
There is a movement - worldwide - gaining momentum every day; conversations about death and end of life issues. Whatever the concern, logistical, spiritual, financial, medical, we talk about it. Check out Kansas City Death Cafe - Dying to Live at the following link, or find us on Facebook, and join the conversation! Next meeting is February 22.
http://www.meetup.com/KC-Death-Cafe-com/
To Life! Peggy
More on the Death Cafe movement here: Death Cafe- Discussing Mortality Over Tea and Cake - BBC
There is a movement - worldwide - gaining momentum every day; conversations about death and end of life issues. Whatever the concern, logistical, spiritual, financial, medical, we talk about it. Check out Kansas City Death Cafe - Dying to Live at the following link, or find us on Facebook, and join the conversation! Next meeting is February 22.
http://www.meetup.com/KC-Death-Cafe-com/
To Life! Peggy
More on the Death Cafe movement here: Death Cafe- Discussing Mortality Over Tea and Cake - BBC
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