"It's only when you start to appreciate dying that you start to appreciate living." Mitch Albom poignantly described in his book Tuesdays with Morrie a story of a man who died of a rare disease and his life story has inspired many people who have read the book.
Death? What does it really mean? How come that this phenomenon apparently solicits various thoughts and feelings? We all know that death is something natural. We were all born to live and die. That’s the truth but what is it about death that we do not want? Is it how, where, when and why we are going to die that scare us? Is death a problem? How do people cope with this? Why is it part of nature? Since time immemorial, scientists and doctors in the field of medicine have been searching for all ways and means possible to prevent death from taking place. But is it really something that can be prevented?
Spiritually, death is seen as the ultimate moment to be with the Creator. It is the beginning of great joy and happiness with the Lord. However, is death really the issue or is it how we live our life in preparation for our death that is the real deal? Many factors like religion, culture, beliefs, customs, traditions, and attitude towards life contribute to this esoteric attitude that earthlings have towards this phenomenon.
In the movie "The Shoes of the Fisherman" starred by Anthony Quinn, one character said that, "Dying is easy but it is the living that defeats us." It may sound very radical but in a spiritual sense, it is true that dying is and should be seen as a simple and joyful reality that we all must inevitably face, expectedly with thankfulness, as it elevates our existence to a higher non-physical level and that living our mundane existence can overcome our spiritual wholeness especially if we allow ourselves to be dominated by our basic instinctual longings.
After the death of my father and my mother on the same year, I have fully realized that no matter what we do, no one can escape dying. Words cannot describe the pain that I feel deep inside me especially when I remember the happy and loving moments we shared together. But why do I have to focus myself on their absence? Why can't I focus myself on the people and things that I have with me now? Why do I have to preoccupy myself with their death and not feel the goodness that life has to offer?
It is the living that is the most essential part of our earthly human life. But what do we do with our earthly life? What do we prioritize everyday? What do we preoccupy ourselves with? What do we value so much that we tend to forget the very essence of living?
After the death of my parents, another depressing incident happened to my family. Our relatives filed a case against my mother when she was still alive so that they could legally make us vacate the place where we were born and grew up in. It was a case of a very small piece of land which my relatives could not let go and give to my mother, which they knew that she has the legal right to acquire for herself. Because of poverty, my mother was not able to do something to put it under her name legally. Thus, my opportunistic relatives maneuvered everything and they were able to have legal possession of it. I just can't understand why a very small piece of land, my opulent relatives who are now living in America, cannot let go of?
Live and let die! We have to live life according to God's goodness and kindness and we have to die from all our weaknesses, obssessiveness, insecurities, idiosyncrasies, greediness, lustfulness, and sinfulness so the day will come that we can say freely that dying and living are easy and both are a joyful circumstance because they are our ultimate gateway to heaven.
Live and let die now!
Death? What does it really mean? How come that this phenomenon apparently solicits various thoughts and feelings? We all know that death is something natural. We were all born to live and die. That’s the truth but what is it about death that we do not want? Is it how, where, when and why we are going to die that scare us? Is death a problem? How do people cope with this? Why is it part of nature? Since time immemorial, scientists and doctors in the field of medicine have been searching for all ways and means possible to prevent death from taking place. But is it really something that can be prevented?
Spiritually, death is seen as the ultimate moment to be with the Creator. It is the beginning of great joy and happiness with the Lord. However, is death really the issue or is it how we live our life in preparation for our death that is the real deal? Many factors like religion, culture, beliefs, customs, traditions, and attitude towards life contribute to this esoteric attitude that earthlings have towards this phenomenon.
In the movie "The Shoes of the Fisherman" starred by Anthony Quinn, one character said that, "Dying is easy but it is the living that defeats us." It may sound very radical but in a spiritual sense, it is true that dying is and should be seen as a simple and joyful reality that we all must inevitably face, expectedly with thankfulness, as it elevates our existence to a higher non-physical level and that living our mundane existence can overcome our spiritual wholeness especially if we allow ourselves to be dominated by our basic instinctual longings.
After the death of my father and my mother on the same year, I have fully realized that no matter what we do, no one can escape dying. Words cannot describe the pain that I feel deep inside me especially when I remember the happy and loving moments we shared together. But why do I have to focus myself on their absence? Why can't I focus myself on the people and things that I have with me now? Why do I have to preoccupy myself with their death and not feel the goodness that life has to offer?
It is the living that is the most essential part of our earthly human life. But what do we do with our earthly life? What do we prioritize everyday? What do we preoccupy ourselves with? What do we value so much that we tend to forget the very essence of living?
After the death of my parents, another depressing incident happened to my family. Our relatives filed a case against my mother when she was still alive so that they could legally make us vacate the place where we were born and grew up in. It was a case of a very small piece of land which my relatives could not let go and give to my mother, which they knew that she has the legal right to acquire for herself. Because of poverty, my mother was not able to do something to put it under her name legally. Thus, my opportunistic relatives maneuvered everything and they were able to have legal possession of it. I just can't understand why a very small piece of land, my opulent relatives who are now living in America, cannot let go of?
Live and let die! We have to live life according to God's goodness and kindness and we have to die from all our weaknesses, obssessiveness, insecurities, idiosyncrasies, greediness, lustfulness, and sinfulness so the day will come that we can say freely that dying and living are easy and both are a joyful circumstance because they are our ultimate gateway to heaven.
Live and let die now!
you nailed it again. i thoroughly enjoyed reading ur blog entry. i really admire and commend your honesty and transparency. you are an open book and i love u for it.
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