How is the best way to die well? Live well first! How is the best way to live well? Learn to live courageously.
I guess that sounds easier than it is, for many of us. But we all can learn how to put the breaks on at least some of the fear of living.
First, we can have a little trust in life. And why not? We all have been given a beautiful planet in which to enjoy. A planet that provides for our needs and, for most of us, also provides many of our desires. Heck, we have even been provided companions in which to share this amazing life with! Our life experience will not last forever, but nothing last forever on Earth, at least not in its current form. This fact however, does not lessen its value. In fact, it actually increases it! Because it is finite, it has greater value.
There will always be cloudy days, but they are needed! How can we fully appreciate the sunny days if we haven’t had some cloudy ones to compare them with? It is all relative.
Let life be life, but never let it define your experience of it. Try this on for size: “Hey Life! I see you and I accept you. Now I would like to introduce you to me! I will get a short run on the planet, but I intend it to be my run. I will take opportunities to express love and truth and beauty, in my own way.” And when this run is done, I will ( so to speak) give myself a high five and give thanks for this life well lived.
I hope you enjoy the following poem and I hope it inspires you to seek out the other fine work of this author.
I Will Not Die An Unlived Life, by Dawna Markova
I will not die an unlived life
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.
Hi, Myra. I was just given your info from a friend who works for SCAH Sacramento-Hospice. I’m really enjoying browsing your website and Facebook page. I have an interest in one day serving as a death doula, and wondered if I could have more info on your curriculum or how one would go about starting as a death doula. I’d appreciate any advice or insights you have, thank you.