Here today. Gone tomorrow.

Death is both certain and uncertain. We know it will happen, but we don’t know when. EVERYONE DIES, and you are not an exception.

Great endings make us remember a movie forever. In our lives, we avoid writing that last episode. We celebrate life. But death feels dark and sad.

One powerful way to begin understanding death is to consciously reflect on it. Just sit quietly and think about death for a minute. It's not easy! Having denied it for so long, we can't help but find it difficult to imagine death at all. What does death look like?

One important and obvious realization that can come to light when thinking about death is that death is inevitable. The time death will come is uncertain, but that it will arrive is irrefutable. Everything and everyone now alive will one day be dead. This recognition -- that death cannot be overcome -- strikes a fatal blow to the myth of certainty. Contemplating the prospect of death brings immediacy to the present moment, and suddenly a very different reality can unfold.

Through the process of further reflection, a greater awareness of death occurs and eventually a calm presence in the face of death can be developed. Many dying people quite spontaneously and naturally turn their focus away from worldly problems and become concerned instead with questions about the meaning and purpose of life -- an investigation that can be inspirational as well as enlivening. 

Death is both painful to acknowledge and difficult to accept, but it is also the natural and normal outcome of life. Death is the universally shared destiny of everything that lives and is the most powerful teacher of the uncertainty of life and the omnipresence of impermanence.

If we can courageously open ourselves to these truths, we can eventually develop a lasting sense of peace -- and, most importantly, we can be of real assistance to others.

Interestingly enough, when someone dies, even the most religious folks feel sad. We hold onto life as a material property, thus blinding our spiritual beliefs.

Let go of living; it’s not a possession. You can’t control how long you live. But you manage how. Come to terms with death. Being afraid of dying won’t let you make the most of your life.

We take time for granted. But when the end is around the corner we regret our assumptions. Some folks feel guilty for what they haven’t done (e.g., not saying “I love you” or “sorry” more often). Some people get anxious about finishing (or starting) their most valuable project. Everyone agrees that they want to spend their last 10 minutes with their close family.

I look forward to death. I've always imagined it like another door that leads to a higher form of being and consciousness. I'm not completely sure. I've never existed in that realm before. But soon enough, and not a moment too soon, I will know (or possibly not know) what does or doesn't await me.