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The Joy of Death

Posted By: Randy GageMay 26, 2011

Okay don’t let the title fool you.  I’m in no particular hurry to experience death.  But I don’t spend my days fearing it either.  I accept it as a part of living, and I have lived an amazing life: bold, out loud and in color.   After losing my coach, dear friend and surrogate father this week, I’ve been reflecting on it more.

I gain solace from the Buddhist view of death, which is one of the few faiths that embrace it, rather than fear it.  Now of course some may argue with that.

Think of all the silliness of Harold Camping and the followers of his strip mall ministry, last weekend.  They view death as a chance for the good stuff (afterlife, nirvana, sitting at their father’s knee, etc.).  But I don’t buy that, since their view of afterlife is so predicated on passing the test in their current life.

To me it is a pretty simple equation.  Fear based religions inspire fear.  Faith-based religions inspire faith.  Most people here in the West fear and deny death.

Buddhists believe that we can actually use our life to prepare for death.  We can begin every day, right now, to find meaning in our lives; taking every opportunity to change and prepare with peace of mind for death.

Making peace with death is what brings peace in life.  If you refuse to accept death while you are alive, you become prisoner of the very aspect of you that has to die.  This robs you of the basis of your journey to enlightenment, trapping you in the illusion of permanence; of the continued suffering called samsara.

The real message of Buddhism is one of hope; a belief that if you are prepared, you can experience joy in life and death.  Death need not be a defeat, but can be the crowning and most glorious moment of life.  But to do that, you have to live today, love today, and grow today.

You up for that?

-RG

 

38 comments on “The Joy of Death”

  1. Yep! Living loving and growing! The "continued suffering called samsara" that you bring up sounds like all the ghost stories we hear about. People afraid of death during life and permanently connected to this earthly realm so to speak. sad
    Jean

  2. Hi Randy, sorry to hear about your loss, of your Coach / Mentor. Death is never easy.

    I don't know what lies beyond, this life, but from what I have been reading lately, it appears that Re-Incarnation is real.

    For books on this subject look into reading the material of Dr. Brian Weiss, "Messages of the Masters". Also have a look at "Courageous Souls", by Robert Schwartz.

    These books are more likely to make you ASK even bigger questions, then they are to give you answers, but they are certainly thought provoking.

    The key is that if Re-Incarnation is real, then we get to experience life, again. On the other hand, Life is short, and straight and and narrow is the path to.............., Waste no time, in getting to where you are going. Do it right the first time, and give life everything you have to give, and you may not have to come back a second time.

  3. I really loved it in "Harry Potter" when Dumbledore says to Harry "To the well organized mind death is just the next adventure." That is a very Happy way of looking at death.

    However, I also think you have to grieve your own death while your alive. Because our life here on earth is FINITE.

    I think all of life we have to continue to grieve the things we loose as we age. And if you think about it the older we get the more is lost to us. Not just friends and family, but things like our beliefs, attitude, physical elements, etc. Sometimes we lose things and get something better! But any loss requires grieving. I think it is GRIEF, that people want to avoid. No one wants to face the pain of grief, that grief that comes knowing we are only here for awhile.

    But, as the Tarot DEATH card suggests. What is often waiting is greater spiritual enlightenment, which also brings us more joy and peace.

    Yesterday, my son threw his Obie One Kenobi action figure so high into the air it landed on the guttering of our roof. (He calls it the sewer) At the same time, we were leaving to go to my work, where my husband picks him up, and I go to work. So, there was not enough time to get his toy down.

    The whole drive to work my son was crying and screaming over and over again "He's in the sewer! He's in the sewer". I never knew him to be so grief stricken. Even though it was painful for me, I just let him cry and cry because I knew he had to grieve his lost Jedi Knight. (On a side note, my husband was able to retrieve it)

    Anyway, GRIEF it is good for a person. My son even if he had not gotten OBIE back would have still been okay, because he had a chance to feel the loss. And now I hope he will treat OBIE as the treasure he is, and not throw him on the roof anymore.

    Goodbye.

  4. Thank you for sharing your insights on death. I couldn't agree more. Death is so final it can't help but make us so sad to lose the ones we love....silence is the severest form of rejection and certainly the most painful....
    My Mom is suffering from dementia and after spending a little time with her I realize that whether death is slow or fast, we need to deal with the inevitable and live every day as our best life and grow from success to significance
    Any additional insight and help from you we can have is deeply appreciated.

  5. We don't die, our human shell dies. The only way to receive eternal life in heaven is if we believe that Jesus Christ, the son of God, is our savior and that his death and ressurection have taken our sin away. You don't get to heaven on good deeds. You get to heaven by faith and belief. Jesus made it very clear, " No one goes to the father but through me". I don't know about you, but I beleive the bible is ALL truth, and I'm not rolling the dice on what some other person's opinion might be about how we get our rewards and ticket into heaven. Death is Joy if you are saved. Death is Hell if you are not and I surely do not want to see any of you in Hell. Please read the Bible, to better understand instead of taking advice and opinions from others who may not know the truth and have the understanding. The price is too great to pay and it's eternal. We are here on earth for but a blink of an eye.

    1. Mary Ellen-

      Are you open to a different interpretation of the quote from the book of John? If you're not, that's okay, I won't post my view of it. I respect your right to your beliefs.

      Joe

      1. Absolutely Joe. Thank you for your kind response. Any verse from the Bible that I can gain more understanding on, or more importantly, you can share with others who need to be saved, please do so. It's so important. God bless you. M-E

        1. Thank you, Mary Ellen, for the open exchange. I interpret that passage as meaning "though my consciousness, through my example" is the way to the Father. So we are to follow his example (love & forgiveness)and become like him in consciousness. To me, this is where the work is each and every day. I also believe that "heaven" and "hell" are states of consciousness, both expereinced here in this earthly realm, not someplace in the afterlife. This is alluded to in the bible: "the kingdom of heaven is within" and "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Thanks again for allowing me to share. I am also open to others commenting as well.

    2. Hi Mary Ellen
      That verse you quote is probably the crux of Christianity as it purports that one is only "saved" by recognising Jesus Christ as the son of God and as his/her saviour. Many fear driven people make their decision to be saved based on fear.
      As Will Smith ( a mere Hollywood mortal I know) says "the only thing to fear is fear itself." I practise this every day. Personally I love the bible but this is the very verse that makes me question the whole essence of Christianity.
      How could a loving God give life to millions of people for a few decades, sometimes even less and then condemn them to an eternity of suffering for respecting their parents, communities and cultures they are born into, a large majority of which do not recognise Jesus as their saviour, let alone know anything about him? To me it just does not make sense. Personally I would prefer to be an honest non believer than a dishonest believer. You also say "You don’t get to heaven on good deeds. You get to heaven by faith and belief." I knew someone once who was a crook, a brilliant one at that who ended up in prison,despite the fact that he read the bible, had faith and believed. So much so, that every morning he sincerely asked God to forgive all the terrible things he would do that day. His morning prayer vindicated him! Also I ask myself where exactly does God draw the line in his judgement of us? Lastly, if I really believed your interpretation of the bible and thought my friends and loved ones and the other billions of non believers were to spend eternity damned to a life of suffering I would devote every second of my existence to " saving them." I wouldn't even stop to eat and then I'd die pretty soon myself and wouldn't get very far in my efforts!I prefer Gandhi's take. He embraced all faiths - I am a Christian, a Buddhist, a Hindu etc -he For me, any religion that claims to be "THE way" causes division and intolerance which then lead to dissension and wars which I don't believe a loving God would want.

      1. Joe and Hilary,
        Thank you both for sharing. All your points are well spoken and appreciated. I wish I only understood more, why God does the things he does. He says, " Your ways are not my ways, and your understanding is not my understanding". I seem to experience, the more I read and study the bible and seek interpretation, that part of faith is evolving into it's true understanding. It's as if a chapter read again reveals new layers of understanding. I have read hundreds of books and many over and over again but one thing is for sure, the more I read the Bible, the more it reveals to me, deeper understanding. I don't think a lifetime will ever reveal all its truth's to us. Sorry to take up so much space on this, Randy. I may have taken us off the subject you had intended, a little, but I am so passionate about this. Forgive me.

        1. Thanks for taking the time to reply Mary Ellen. This is what I love about this blog - that it brings together people of all beliefs and outlooks. Thank you again Randy for connecting souls from all over the globe to share with each other in a place where there is a lot of love and a desire to live in a more meaningful and fulfilled way.

          1. Hilary, Here's hoping one day you live the truth you speak of. I think after reading many of your posts, it is just intellectual conjecture on your part, without deep understanding or the ability to walk the talk.

            Tolerance and love must be modeled to be truly understood.

      2. These arguments are really a waste of space. You cannot argue logic, with a faith that is based on emotional attatchments. You may as well spit in the wind.

        1. Hi Anonymous,

          This is why I love this blog because it brings together people of all different points of view. I respect yours.

          If you are seeking logic my posts are hardly likey to tickle your fancy. I try my utmost to relinquish logic and reason in many instances and look instead for guidance to the truth instead which can at times be scarey but quite delicious for those who like adventure ( and I have to admit having a penchant for the latter.)

          This is what Napolean Hill ( whose conclusions were reached after interviewing 50 of America's most successful men at that time) has to say about logic ( pertaining to the realm of ideas.)
          "The reasoning faculty is often faulty because it is largely guided by ones accumulated experience. Not all knowledge which one accumulates through experience is accurate. Ideas received through the creative faculty are much more reliable for the reason that they come from sources more reliable than any which are available to the reasoning faculty of the mind."

          Had Napolean Hill listened to logic he would never have even entertained the idea that his son who was born with no ears could one day hear. However he defied all logic and determined to find a way for his son to hear and he did.

          Many would have called this a miracle ( an event that cannot be explained by logic and some believe may have been caused by a god or other sentient being) but miracles are just the term used to label things people can not explain or unerstand. The people who live by "logic" in my humble opinion are often scared to trust in the supernatural or spiritual thingsof this world (aka God higher self or other.) I happen to adhere to the premise that most of what goes on in life happens in the invisible and not in the tangible.

          Et voila!

          PS I relish being told "you're out of your mind". I seek just that - to get out of my mind and into my heart.

          PPS Please remind me what truth I was supposed to be preaching? And what talk I am supposed to be walking?

  6. Merely a transition, the real key lies in what you do with what you have in the now, do you grow as a person and release all the stuff you picked up along the way, or do you stay stuck in the negative emotions and then have to come back and do it all over again till you get it right?

  7. Hi Randy,
    Thanks for today's post. It is especially meaningful for me because, many years ago, I wrote a similar article for Prevention Magazine titled "Did You Die Today?"

    Also, my most recent book, Learning to Laugh When You Feel Like Crying: Embracing Life After Loss,also touches on what you said. Would you like a review copy of the book?

    Allen

  8. "Death need not be a defeat, but can be the crowning and most glorious moment of life."

    But since we don't know when our passing will occur, in order for our death to be such a glorious moment, we must -- as you've said before -- live every day to its fullest, as though it might be our last.

    "... live today, love today, and grow today."
    Yes!
    jim

  9. Woody Allen sure is a classic case study of a guy who can never be truly happy because he knows he's going to die anyway... so silly.. a multi-millionaire, gets to do what he loves. everything else etc.. and still such a misanthrope... oh well... his classic movies still make me laugh and think...a classic is Crimes and Msidemeanors is one of his most underrated I think...

  10. It is an exquisite post today. And comments are sublime. Beauty, depth, lightness, humor, wisdom. Love.

  11. I do fear death. I know this because of my reaction on an airplane when it did some very disturbing things! I feel very much like Hilary in terms of my struggles with Christianity, and have rejected organised religion and the belief that Christianity is THE way etc... but I find that I have not taken the time to think deeply about what I believe about death, and how I can embrace death and grief (thanks for your great post, anon!).

    Thanks for this post, Randy. It's given me a lot to think about.

  12. quoting
    'your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness—dumbledore'
    death is another great adventure...everybody wants to go to Heaven but the problem is nobody wants to die...

  13. I like Les Brown's philosophy, "The old you must die daily;" which speaks to the idea that we must grow everyday, eventually into life after death. A non-stop process of evolving which involves cessation everyday.

  14. You are right, Randy. We try to escape from the fact that we will die and that gives us the opportunity to be calm, not to hurry anywhere, to accept mediocrity. All because we convince ourselves that life is eternal.

    That is easyer to say than to do. ( I mean to "live today, love today, and grow today"). We have to fight with our current emotions (subconscious beliefs).

    Thank you for the post.

  15. Thank you very much for your post Randy, as a Catholic I must say that very few understand the mistic behind death. Not so long ago I saw the movie Groundhog Day, even though it's was released almost 20 years ago. Just loved it, the message is aligned with this topic. When we dare to love life our ego dies, that's the divine dicotomy.

    Luis Toro
    "Live In The NOW"

  16. When I am reconciled to death as the end to life that I will face, I discover that even the "little" things in life can be a source of delight, that I can experience happiness in every moment.

    It becomes possible to live a life of choice rather than a life of constant reaction to fear.

    All in all, we all have to die to live, and you know what I mean...

    kh

  17. RG,
    I feel that we are preparing here to become more enlightened closer to God and that this is a journey not an event. That is why I don't believe in the evangelical message, that in order to have everlasting life than I must say the eight magic words to get into heaven. I also believe that those people are on their journey and it is not up to me to judge them. I just don't want to be them.

    I believe that if I don't get this than I get to take these tests over. I believe that I come back and work on different experiences. I believe in Buddha, Mohammed, and all the other religions. For me it is to get closer to the Christ consciousness within me.

    That is a daily walk and not just an event.
    I too am sorry for your loss. How wonderful though that you had this person in your life.

    Jim

  18. Hi David,

    Oh Woody Allen, what a genius!

    Here is his take on life after death.

    "In my next life I want to live my life backwards. You start out dead and get that out of the way. Then you wake up in an old people's home feeling better every day. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, and then when you start work, you get a gold watch and a party on your first day. You work for 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You party, drink alcohol, and are generally promiscuous, then you are ready for high school. You then go to primary school, you become a kid, you play. You have no responsibilities, you become a baby until you are born. And then you spend your last 9 months floating in luxurious spa-like conditions with central heating and room service on tap, larger quarters every day and then Voila! You finish off as an orgasm!"

    His latest movie "Midnight in Paris" is exquisite.

    Apparently he is shooting his next movie in Rome next year - can hardly wait to see it!

  19. randy prisoners face fear fight daily hard questions in cell or yard need real answrers to trust and believe 24-7-365 must care and listen our free SPREAD THE WORD TALK WITH THE LORD program inspires daily talks catch they need your help with first quetion our blogs help g hubbard po box 2232 ponte vedra fl 32004 http://talkwiththelord.blogsopot.com/

  20. In Venezuela, where I come from, everybody is raised in an environment that teaches you to fear death, our catholic schools teaches you mainly that. It is a relief to learn this new perspective, it is a great chance for me to pass on this to the dearest to me and open them up to a brand new life where life is to be lived, where we are here to live a life of joy and enlightment, and to accept death as a new step towards enlightment. Thank you Randy for your amazing and enlighting posts!

  21. mil gracias nuevamente!! todo sirve porque cada uno comprende desde su estado actual, que seguro dentro de un tiempo su visión sera otra. Alegría!!

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  • 38 comments on “The Joy of Death”

    1. Yep! Living loving and growing! The "continued suffering called samsara" that you bring up sounds like all the ghost stories we hear about. People afraid of death during life and permanently connected to this earthly realm so to speak. sad
      Jean

    2. Hi Randy, sorry to hear about your loss, of your Coach / Mentor. Death is never easy.

      I don't know what lies beyond, this life, but from what I have been reading lately, it appears that Re-Incarnation is real.

      For books on this subject look into reading the material of Dr. Brian Weiss, "Messages of the Masters". Also have a look at "Courageous Souls", by Robert Schwartz.

      These books are more likely to make you ASK even bigger questions, then they are to give you answers, but they are certainly thought provoking.

      The key is that if Re-Incarnation is real, then we get to experience life, again. On the other hand, Life is short, and straight and and narrow is the path to.............., Waste no time, in getting to where you are going. Do it right the first time, and give life everything you have to give, and you may not have to come back a second time.

    3. I really loved it in "Harry Potter" when Dumbledore says to Harry "To the well organized mind death is just the next adventure." That is a very Happy way of looking at death.

      However, I also think you have to grieve your own death while your alive. Because our life here on earth is FINITE.

      I think all of life we have to continue to grieve the things we loose as we age. And if you think about it the older we get the more is lost to us. Not just friends and family, but things like our beliefs, attitude, physical elements, etc. Sometimes we lose things and get something better! But any loss requires grieving. I think it is GRIEF, that people want to avoid. No one wants to face the pain of grief, that grief that comes knowing we are only here for awhile.

      But, as the Tarot DEATH card suggests. What is often waiting is greater spiritual enlightenment, which also brings us more joy and peace.

      Yesterday, my son threw his Obie One Kenobi action figure so high into the air it landed on the guttering of our roof. (He calls it the sewer) At the same time, we were leaving to go to my work, where my husband picks him up, and I go to work. So, there was not enough time to get his toy down.

      The whole drive to work my son was crying and screaming over and over again "He's in the sewer! He's in the sewer". I never knew him to be so grief stricken. Even though it was painful for me, I just let him cry and cry because I knew he had to grieve his lost Jedi Knight. (On a side note, my husband was able to retrieve it)

      Anyway, GRIEF it is good for a person. My son even if he had not gotten OBIE back would have still been okay, because he had a chance to feel the loss. And now I hope he will treat OBIE as the treasure he is, and not throw him on the roof anymore.

      Goodbye.

    4. Thank you for sharing your insights on death. I couldn't agree more. Death is so final it can't help but make us so sad to lose the ones we love....silence is the severest form of rejection and certainly the most painful....
      My Mom is suffering from dementia and after spending a little time with her I realize that whether death is slow or fast, we need to deal with the inevitable and live every day as our best life and grow from success to significance
      Any additional insight and help from you we can have is deeply appreciated.

    5. We don't die, our human shell dies. The only way to receive eternal life in heaven is if we believe that Jesus Christ, the son of God, is our savior and that his death and ressurection have taken our sin away. You don't get to heaven on good deeds. You get to heaven by faith and belief. Jesus made it very clear, " No one goes to the father but through me". I don't know about you, but I beleive the bible is ALL truth, and I'm not rolling the dice on what some other person's opinion might be about how we get our rewards and ticket into heaven. Death is Joy if you are saved. Death is Hell if you are not and I surely do not want to see any of you in Hell. Please read the Bible, to better understand instead of taking advice and opinions from others who may not know the truth and have the understanding. The price is too great to pay and it's eternal. We are here on earth for but a blink of an eye.

      1. Mary Ellen-

        Are you open to a different interpretation of the quote from the book of John? If you're not, that's okay, I won't post my view of it. I respect your right to your beliefs.

        Joe

        1. Absolutely Joe. Thank you for your kind response. Any verse from the Bible that I can gain more understanding on, or more importantly, you can share with others who need to be saved, please do so. It's so important. God bless you. M-E

          1. Thank you, Mary Ellen, for the open exchange. I interpret that passage as meaning "though my consciousness, through my example" is the way to the Father. So we are to follow his example (love & forgiveness)and become like him in consciousness. To me, this is where the work is each and every day. I also believe that "heaven" and "hell" are states of consciousness, both expereinced here in this earthly realm, not someplace in the afterlife. This is alluded to in the bible: "the kingdom of heaven is within" and "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Thanks again for allowing me to share. I am also open to others commenting as well.

      2. Hi Mary Ellen
        That verse you quote is probably the crux of Christianity as it purports that one is only "saved" by recognising Jesus Christ as the son of God and as his/her saviour. Many fear driven people make their decision to be saved based on fear.
        As Will Smith ( a mere Hollywood mortal I know) says "the only thing to fear is fear itself." I practise this every day. Personally I love the bible but this is the very verse that makes me question the whole essence of Christianity.
        How could a loving God give life to millions of people for a few decades, sometimes even less and then condemn them to an eternity of suffering for respecting their parents, communities and cultures they are born into, a large majority of which do not recognise Jesus as their saviour, let alone know anything about him? To me it just does not make sense. Personally I would prefer to be an honest non believer than a dishonest believer. You also say "You don’t get to heaven on good deeds. You get to heaven by faith and belief." I knew someone once who was a crook, a brilliant one at that who ended up in prison,despite the fact that he read the bible, had faith and believed. So much so, that every morning he sincerely asked God to forgive all the terrible things he would do that day. His morning prayer vindicated him! Also I ask myself where exactly does God draw the line in his judgement of us? Lastly, if I really believed your interpretation of the bible and thought my friends and loved ones and the other billions of non believers were to spend eternity damned to a life of suffering I would devote every second of my existence to " saving them." I wouldn't even stop to eat and then I'd die pretty soon myself and wouldn't get very far in my efforts!I prefer Gandhi's take. He embraced all faiths - I am a Christian, a Buddhist, a Hindu etc -he For me, any religion that claims to be "THE way" causes division and intolerance which then lead to dissension and wars which I don't believe a loving God would want.

        1. Joe and Hilary,
          Thank you both for sharing. All your points are well spoken and appreciated. I wish I only understood more, why God does the things he does. He says, " Your ways are not my ways, and your understanding is not my understanding". I seem to experience, the more I read and study the bible and seek interpretation, that part of faith is evolving into it's true understanding. It's as if a chapter read again reveals new layers of understanding. I have read hundreds of books and many over and over again but one thing is for sure, the more I read the Bible, the more it reveals to me, deeper understanding. I don't think a lifetime will ever reveal all its truth's to us. Sorry to take up so much space on this, Randy. I may have taken us off the subject you had intended, a little, but I am so passionate about this. Forgive me.

          1. Thanks for taking the time to reply Mary Ellen. This is what I love about this blog - that it brings together people of all beliefs and outlooks. Thank you again Randy for connecting souls from all over the globe to share with each other in a place where there is a lot of love and a desire to live in a more meaningful and fulfilled way.

            1. Hilary, Here's hoping one day you live the truth you speak of. I think after reading many of your posts, it is just intellectual conjecture on your part, without deep understanding or the ability to walk the talk.

              Tolerance and love must be modeled to be truly understood.

        2. These arguments are really a waste of space. You cannot argue logic, with a faith that is based on emotional attatchments. You may as well spit in the wind.

          1. Hi Anonymous,

            This is why I love this blog because it brings together people of all different points of view. I respect yours.

            If you are seeking logic my posts are hardly likey to tickle your fancy. I try my utmost to relinquish logic and reason in many instances and look instead for guidance to the truth instead which can at times be scarey but quite delicious for those who like adventure ( and I have to admit having a penchant for the latter.)

            This is what Napolean Hill ( whose conclusions were reached after interviewing 50 of America's most successful men at that time) has to say about logic ( pertaining to the realm of ideas.)
            "The reasoning faculty is often faulty because it is largely guided by ones accumulated experience. Not all knowledge which one accumulates through experience is accurate. Ideas received through the creative faculty are much more reliable for the reason that they come from sources more reliable than any which are available to the reasoning faculty of the mind."

            Had Napolean Hill listened to logic he would never have even entertained the idea that his son who was born with no ears could one day hear. However he defied all logic and determined to find a way for his son to hear and he did.

            Many would have called this a miracle ( an event that cannot be explained by logic and some believe may have been caused by a god or other sentient being) but miracles are just the term used to label things people can not explain or unerstand. The people who live by "logic" in my humble opinion are often scared to trust in the supernatural or spiritual thingsof this world (aka God higher self or other.) I happen to adhere to the premise that most of what goes on in life happens in the invisible and not in the tangible.

            Et voila!

            PS I relish being told "you're out of your mind". I seek just that - to get out of my mind and into my heart.

            PPS Please remind me what truth I was supposed to be preaching? And what talk I am supposed to be walking?

    6. Merely a transition, the real key lies in what you do with what you have in the now, do you grow as a person and release all the stuff you picked up along the way, or do you stay stuck in the negative emotions and then have to come back and do it all over again till you get it right?

    7. Hi Randy,
      Thanks for today's post. It is especially meaningful for me because, many years ago, I wrote a similar article for Prevention Magazine titled "Did You Die Today?"

      Also, my most recent book, Learning to Laugh When You Feel Like Crying: Embracing Life After Loss,also touches on what you said. Would you like a review copy of the book?

      Allen

    8. "Death need not be a defeat, but can be the crowning and most glorious moment of life."

      But since we don't know when our passing will occur, in order for our death to be such a glorious moment, we must -- as you've said before -- live every day to its fullest, as though it might be our last.

      "... live today, love today, and grow today."
      Yes!
      jim

    9. Woody Allen sure is a classic case study of a guy who can never be truly happy because he knows he's going to die anyway... so silly.. a multi-millionaire, gets to do what he loves. everything else etc.. and still such a misanthrope... oh well... his classic movies still make me laugh and think...a classic is Crimes and Msidemeanors is one of his most underrated I think...

    10. It is an exquisite post today. And comments are sublime. Beauty, depth, lightness, humor, wisdom. Love.

    11. I do fear death. I know this because of my reaction on an airplane when it did some very disturbing things! I feel very much like Hilary in terms of my struggles with Christianity, and have rejected organised religion and the belief that Christianity is THE way etc... but I find that I have not taken the time to think deeply about what I believe about death, and how I can embrace death and grief (thanks for your great post, anon!).

      Thanks for this post, Randy. It's given me a lot to think about.

    12. quoting
      'your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness—dumbledore'
      death is another great adventure...everybody wants to go to Heaven but the problem is nobody wants to die...

    13. I like Les Brown's philosophy, "The old you must die daily;" which speaks to the idea that we must grow everyday, eventually into life after death. A non-stop process of evolving which involves cessation everyday.

    14. You are right, Randy. We try to escape from the fact that we will die and that gives us the opportunity to be calm, not to hurry anywhere, to accept mediocrity. All because we convince ourselves that life is eternal.

      That is easyer to say than to do. ( I mean to "live today, love today, and grow today"). We have to fight with our current emotions (subconscious beliefs).

      Thank you for the post.

    15. Thank you very much for your post Randy, as a Catholic I must say that very few understand the mistic behind death. Not so long ago I saw the movie Groundhog Day, even though it's was released almost 20 years ago. Just loved it, the message is aligned with this topic. When we dare to love life our ego dies, that's the divine dicotomy.

      Luis Toro
      "Live In The NOW"

    16. When I am reconciled to death as the end to life that I will face, I discover that even the "little" things in life can be a source of delight, that I can experience happiness in every moment.

      It becomes possible to live a life of choice rather than a life of constant reaction to fear.

      All in all, we all have to die to live, and you know what I mean...

      kh

    17. RG,
      I feel that we are preparing here to become more enlightened closer to God and that this is a journey not an event. That is why I don't believe in the evangelical message, that in order to have everlasting life than I must say the eight magic words to get into heaven. I also believe that those people are on their journey and it is not up to me to judge them. I just don't want to be them.

      I believe that if I don't get this than I get to take these tests over. I believe that I come back and work on different experiences. I believe in Buddha, Mohammed, and all the other religions. For me it is to get closer to the Christ consciousness within me.

      That is a daily walk and not just an event.
      I too am sorry for your loss. How wonderful though that you had this person in your life.

      Jim

    18. Hi David,

      Oh Woody Allen, what a genius!

      Here is his take on life after death.

      "In my next life I want to live my life backwards. You start out dead and get that out of the way. Then you wake up in an old people's home feeling better every day. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, and then when you start work, you get a gold watch and a party on your first day. You work for 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You party, drink alcohol, and are generally promiscuous, then you are ready for high school. You then go to primary school, you become a kid, you play. You have no responsibilities, you become a baby until you are born. And then you spend your last 9 months floating in luxurious spa-like conditions with central heating and room service on tap, larger quarters every day and then Voila! You finish off as an orgasm!"

      His latest movie "Midnight in Paris" is exquisite.

      Apparently he is shooting his next movie in Rome next year - can hardly wait to see it!

    19. randy prisoners face fear fight daily hard questions in cell or yard need real answrers to trust and believe 24-7-365 must care and listen our free SPREAD THE WORD TALK WITH THE LORD program inspires daily talks catch they need your help with first quetion our blogs help g hubbard po box 2232 ponte vedra fl 32004 http://talkwiththelord.blogsopot.com/

    20. In Venezuela, where I come from, everybody is raised in an environment that teaches you to fear death, our catholic schools teaches you mainly that. It is a relief to learn this new perspective, it is a great chance for me to pass on this to the dearest to me and open them up to a brand new life where life is to be lived, where we are here to live a life of joy and enlightment, and to accept death as a new step towards enlightment. Thank you Randy for your amazing and enlighting posts!

    21. mil gracias nuevamente!! todo sirve porque cada uno comprende desde su estado actual, que seguro dentro de un tiempo su visión sera otra. Alegría!!

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