A wise person realizes that at any moment they may breathe out and the breath may not come back in.
Michael A. Singer, page 158
"If with one breath this can change, then I want to live at the highest level while I'm alive. I'm going to stop bothering the people I love. I'm going to live life from the deepest part of my being."
Michael A. Singer, page 159
Talking About Death
Crazy lady is going to get a little morbid. :)
Well it will seem that I am being morbid and untimely talking about death, it being the season of new life and resurrection-Easter/spring. I believe, however, it is a perfect time to talk about it because when we look at Death we see the preciousness of Life. Easter is all about the dying of one thing (our attachment to physicality) for something much greater.
I do not see myself as morbid and I am not saying I am overly wise either. I have just learned to look at death differently and doing so has made a tremendous difference in how I approach Life.
An Article On the Subject
In 2017 I wrote an article on this very subject. It got published on an online site called Global Harmony.[I didn't know much about this site other than I loved the name, they have great photo-images and they accepted my 4th article when I was doing a self imposed write 8 articles/publish 8 articles in a ferw months challenge. ] I will enclose the link at the bottom of this page if you care to read it. It is long winded as I tend to be when I am discussing things that seem Life enhancing and transformative.
I was thinking of that article when I was reading Chapter 17 in Singer's book, Contemplating Death. I think it said all I would say in response to this chapter even though I had not read the untethered soul until after I wrote it.
The article was about living your Life like you only have 24 hours left. In his book, Singer encourages us to ponder what we would do and how we would live if we discover we only have one week left. Once you determine what you would do, therefore what is most important, then ask yourself why you are not doing that now?
If you were to ask this question of people who are truly awakened, they wouldn't have any problem answering you....If death were to come in an hour, if death were to come in a week, if death were to com in a year, they would live exactly the same way as they're living now. There is not a single thing they carry inside of their hearts that they would rather be doing. In other words, they are living their lives fully and are not making compromises or playing games with themselves. page 159
Would you be able to answer that question as easily? Or are you still wasting time, squandering Life, treating it like its not something precious?
Hmmm! I need to really reflect on that question again and on the 24 hour to do list I added at the conclusion of my article. I realize now that I am not afraid to die but am I living fully?
Doing More?
When I ponder the idea that I may be missing out on "big moments" and I have to "do" different things, fill my bucket list with new adventures I feel more than a little pressured. It is like "Oh man...do you mean there are more things I have to add to my already full plate just to say I am living life fully? "
Singer helps to make that a little easier to digest by reminding us it is not about the doing or adding to our lives...it is about the "being" in our lives. If we have to "do" something...it will simply be to go deeper.
Going Deeper
Making the most of Life has little to do with adding more or catching that high we are chasing. It is not about filling our days with the "big moments"we are so afraid we are missing out on, either. It is just about being there fully in each moment, no matter what is happening in it, experiencing it, appreciating it and loving it for what it is.
The beauty of addressing deep truths is that you don't have to change your life; you just change how you live your life. It's not what you are doing; it's how much of you is doing it. page 160
We are all living on borrowed time. These bodies will not last forever. At some undetermined time, the heart will beat its last beat, the lungs will breathe their last breath and our bodies will cease to be. Knowing that and making that a part of your awareness everyday is not a morbid thing to do...it is a very wise thing to do.
Death shows us how all things are temporal, coming and going and we in these forms are offered a slice of precious Life to witness and experience ...We come in and we go out in some beautiful dance we are a small part of.
We need to look beyond this idea of "my life". This is going deeper. It is not our life...we are just witnessing it as it comes in and as it goes out. Let's make the most of this time we have being the witness while we can. Contemplating death can remind us to do that!
All is well in my world!
Micahel A. Singer (2007) the untethered soul. New Harbinger/Noetic Books
My article: http://www.globalharmonycrew.com/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-life-the-24-hour-life/
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