Yesterday, I awoke to a Facebook post about a colleague dying. She had been ill for some time with cancer; and even though she was a fighter throughout the disease, it got the best of her. To be honest, death and dying has been on my mind a lot lately. This possibly might be because so many are dying - musicians, movie stars, writers, and friends. It could also possibly be because of my age. I don't consider myself "old" but I am older than I've ever been, and with the aging process comes all sorts of epiphanies.
Ironically, my daily reading focused on burying and planting - and of course, there was mention of the need to put dead things to rest and thus, making room for new life to grow. Mark Nepo states, in his book titled The Book of Awakening, "There is always grief for what is lost and always surprise at what is to be born. But much of our pain in living comes from wearing a dead and useless skin, refusing to put it to rest, or from burying such things with the intent of hiding them rather than relinquishing them...We live, embrace, and put to rest our dearest things, including how we see ourselves, so we can resurrect our lives anew."
I have been sensing the urge to move closer to death and dying; yet, I am not sure why. I feel a calling to those who are experiencing grief and loss. This is an interesting shift within me as in my earlier years, I didn't want to have anything to do with death. In fact, I wouldn't even say the word out loud for fear that it might come true. Now, as I circle the sun one more time, I am understanding that we all live with death just on the other side. It isn't something to be feared or dreaded, but something to acknowledge and appreciate for it is here where we can "put that once beloved skin to rest, and to join it with the ground of spirit from which it came, so it may fertilize the next skin of self that will carry us into tomorrow."
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