Death & Dying

This is a difficult subject to broach and an even harder one for people to visit. I feel that it is very important for advance thinking when it comes to the issues of the later years since illness and disability can be right around the corner and take options from us. On the page for Advance Directives, I have outlined and explained the various legal documents that need to be executed and on hand. I think this is important and I invite you to check out that page.

Death may just be the passage to your next adventure. In our youth-oriented, death-denying society, most people do not think about death, much less look into the issues surrounding one's demise. To do so is viewed as morbid or depressing. Most people would quickly change the subject, if it were raised at all. Somehow we all miss the point that we are all going to die and it makes sense to give the subject some thought. It is said that in knowing how to die, one also knows how to live. Actually, it is the knowledge that our death awaits us that adds another dimension to our quality of life. People who have had close calls with death have reported that life takes on new meaning or is sweeter than before their close encounter with the “Grim Reaper”. Personally, I feel that we can have that added sweetness without going to such an extreme, if we would only learn to live in the present, instead of the future or the past.

What does it mean to die? To some, it means the total annihilation of their personhood. To others, the concept of losing the physical body becomes less devastating when there is acceptance of the continued existence of the soul or spirit. Some experience death as a life cut short and some experience death as a relief from suffering, a blessing. It doesn’t seem that there is any good time and no matter how prepared you think you are, death still comes as a shock. The Light beckons those souls that seek it.

Death can be cold and clinical in institutions or comforting as in a home death with Hospice assistance, surrounded by a loving family. It can be sudden and unexpected or the end result of a lifestyle lived on the edge of risk. Death affects more than the one who dies. A lone death sends waves out through the entire community. Some lose a family member, a lover, a child, a friend, a business acquaintance, a member of the community and others lose a stranger. All feel a sense of loss.

I would like to exhort you to examine your feelings about your future death and I would like to encourage you to learn to live each day in the present, with joy about being alive and a zest that maybe you didn’t have before. Look carefully at your life. Is it making you happy? Are you contented? Is there something important you keep putting off? Have you developed a spiritual life? How do you think you would deal with a chronic disease or serious disability? Are there lifestyle changes you can make now to improve your future? What is the state of your relationships with others? Do you have quarrels that need to be mended or alienations that need to be healed?

Death is just another ocean to cross to everlasting life. Finally, what do you think happens after death? Do we still exist? If so, where? How and why? What has been the purpose of your life? What would you want to be remembered for? If there is life after death, are you ready for it?

I believe today that we are being shown that death is natural and not to be feared. There are millions of reports of near-death experiences that overwhelmingly affirm that death is not painful, nor is it something to be feared. Accounts of near-death experiences are filling the bookshelves of our bookstores and libraries and are readily available to anyone who wants to explore this subject. Maybe, if they are correct, we do have a purpose. Maybe our purpose in life is deeper than just earning a living. Maybe the world would have been a poorer place without our presence and maybe, just maybe, that is the lesson.