What if we could befriend the idea of dying in a way that makes our present life richer? Instead of turning away from anything death-related, what if we turned toward it as something that is exciting? Death is the ultimate mystery, and instead of fearing death, we could view it as some great adventure into an unknown world. How would we live differently if we did that?
These are questions for each of us to ponder and talk about with someone else who can say the "D" words. Please contact me if you'd like some straight talk about death and dying.
Here are Annie Lamott's words of wisdom about the topic:
"...And the greatest gift that people can accept, at any age, is that we’re on borrowed time. And that we don’t want to squander it on ‘stupid stuff’. I’ve been around so many people that are dying, and they’re not talking about their accomplishments, they’re not talking about what degrees [or] the honors they graduated with at some fancy college. They’re talking about the love that they’ve experienced. They’re talking about the most beautiful memories that they’ve experienced, and about and the natural world and those moments of awe in their life.
And so, why not, at an earlier age, begin incorporating those very qualities and maybe releasing slightly all the things we do to think that we can avoid or trick out death, which…we’re not going to”.
Annie Lamott
Quoted in The Washington Post, Opinion: Do Not Mess with The Very Old
August 3, 2024
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