Our greatest adviser
There really needs to be something said about death. No one wants to talk about death. Or, speak the word death. Or hear about death. Or read about death. What is going on here?
If you ask yourself a simple question, “What is it about life that is constant, never changing?” There can only be one answer.
Death.
Life is all about gain and loss due to attachment. Claiming life as your own. My life, my family, my toys. But not death, which is always with you. So it should now be obvious why death is such a popularly uncomfortable subject. Loss of my life, my family, my toys. But the reality is that death is a part of life, and indeed there is no difference in essence.
Sure the body fights to stay alive, that is perfectly obvious and natural. But if you look at examples of life and death in wild animals, once the being realizes that death has tapped the body, acceptance of death takes place. There is no complaining about the unfairness of it all, or fear of what will happen next. There is no ending, only a natural transition from the changeable to the unchanging.
So if death is a part of life this should tell us something. Death gives meaning to life. Defines how we live life, if only we use it as our adviser. And it could come at any moment. What would you do if you found that you had one day left to live, or 10 minutes? Would you be in anguish? Instead of hiding from it, face death every day and thank him/her for reminding you to live life to its fullest. When death finally comes, you will not have missed anything.
