Each morning when I wake up, I consciously and mindfully breathe the prana in deeply, I gently place my feet onto Mother Earth and give her a little massage with each step, I stretch my body using sun salutations and smile in gratitude and appreciation for yet another day of life on Earth. I am never certain I will get another opportunity to rise the next day, since inevitably one day I am going to die. All beings eventually shed their mortal bodies, their memories, abilities, thoughts, feelings, knowledge, leaving their earthly achievements behind them and dissolve in eternity. Never in history has there been a sentient behind whose life did not end with death. People try many methods to prevent death from occurring, but it is impossible. No medicine can cure us of death.
Although I have many dreams for the future [Including more travel, learning and growing, and eventually settling down near the sea or tucked away in a lush forest setting, building my own earthen home with an art and music studio, creating a food garden, keeping bees and chickens, and falling asleep in the hammock hanging from my verandah under the stars and waking up to fresh, crisp mornings; and even one day, being a wife and mother. Yet, this is all still a dream. And tomorrow is uncertain.
I have been spending the last week with a Buddhist monk, he was actually the inspiration for this blog post since I have been talking to him a lot about death and the afterlife. I have had many questions for him, for instance, I often wonder why people fear death. What is there to fear? If you are connected to the hara, which is your center between body and soul, then the fear of death is extinguished. And if you are always living in the now and refraining from committing negative actions, then you will have no accumulated negative karma. There will be no worries. Pi Nan, the monk, told me yesterday that people who are afraid of death are carrying around a gigantic ego, they believe they are greater than the Universal energy. At the end of the day, we are all One, we are just made up of the Earth's elements and when we die those elements are returned to Earth. And people who beg to go somewhere after death, i.e. heaven, then those people are greedy in this desire. Pi Nan told me people who just accept death and are at peace with it and not worried about what happens after, live a much better life on Earth and possibly the afterlife.
With that said, if I die today, it would be ok. I would want my family and friends to know that my life up till this exact moment has been nothing but magic and filled with so much love. And, the only wish I would leave behind for my family would be to keep traveling for me. Each year, make it a point to pick another country on the map and go. Take time off work and GO. And dont just say you will go there next year, actually go and immerse yourself in the beauty, culture, and eat delicious, exotic foods. Oh, and please cremate me and take me with you! Spread me in all the different countries you go to and places that make you smile and feel at peace in your heart. Traveling has changed my life and I want everyone I know to experience that same change--That same rush I get every time I step my foot on land I have yet to see and explore.
