The way we face death tells us a lot about how we face life. The biggest unknown we have to face is death and the most significant losses are the deaths of those we love. To avoid facing the unknown or the experience of grief, we can avoid or hide from life by limiting our attachments and making sure we are always dealing with the known. Yet these very things cause our lives to become smaller and more restricted. Rather than flinging ourselves into possibility, we play it safe. Rather than letting love in or out, we shut down so we won’t get hurt. In avoiding death, we actually end up avoiding life. Facing death, our own death and the loss of beloved people and pets, with courage and strength, with a willingness to feel our grief and celebrate the lives we have shared, opens us to a richer, fuller way of living. Imagine facing life with courage and strength, willing to feel all your feelings and celebrating your life with all its crazy ups and down. What a wonderful life it would be. Another one of those spiritual paradoxes – by being willing to face death we are actually taught how to savor life!
Savoring Life
