Choose to die well while it is possible, lest shortly it may become necessary for you to die, but it will no longer be possible to die well.
Both life and death are inevitable for us, however much we might try to wish either of them away.
Sometimes we are terrified of living, and sometimes we are terrified of dying, but we tend to worry more about the quantity of how long we might live, and we easily forget about attending to the quality of how well we might live.
And even when we do consider such a quality of life, we can get confused about its source and origin. We look to a catalog of things that might or might not happen to us, contrasting a wish list of circumstances we would prefer to a litany of fears about circumstances we would like to avoid. Wealth, social standing, convenience, and luxury become the false benchmarks of a good life.
It’s no wonder I become anxious and fidgety, since none of those things are ultimately within my power. I must look for my happiness elsewhere, not in a set of conditions, but in the dignity of my convictions.
What I choose to think and do at this moment in time, how I decide to act toward others instead of making demands of how they should act toward me, is where a true quality of life comes in.
I will most certainly die, not necessarily when I expect, and not necessarily how I expect, so I must live well now, with decency, love, and acceptance, so I might also die well when the time comes, with the very same decency, love, and acceptance.
There is a path of unconditional peace and joy.
Both life and death are inevitable for us, however much we might try to wish either of them away.
Sometimes we are terrified of living, and sometimes we are terrified of dying, but we tend to worry more about the quantity of how long we might live, and we easily forget about attending to the quality of how well we might live.
And even when we do consider such a quality of life, we can get confused about its source and origin. We look to a catalog of things that might or might not happen to us, contrasting a wish list of circumstances we would prefer to a litany of fears about circumstances we would like to avoid. Wealth, social standing, convenience, and luxury become the false benchmarks of a good life.
It’s no wonder I become anxious and fidgety, since none of those things are ultimately within my power. I must look for my happiness elsewhere, not in a set of conditions, but in the dignity of my convictions.
What I choose to think and do at this moment in time, how I decide to act toward others instead of making demands of how they should act toward me, is where a true quality of life comes in.
I will most certainly die, not necessarily when I expect, and not necessarily how I expect, so I must live well now, with decency, love, and acceptance, so I might also die well when the time comes, with the very same decency, love, and acceptance.
There is a path of unconditional peace and joy.
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