There is a type of class which I never expected to take, but we never know our curriculum. Life recently signed me up for the grief class. My grieving about my unborn child was one of the many painful experiences shared within our group. Many participants were grieving losing their loved ones, often more than one in a short period of time. A profound sense of incompleteness and deep sadness over lost opportunities were the underlying causes of the pain shared in the room.
We really have only one certainty in life and that is that we are going to die. Either we will see our loved ones go or our loved ones will see us go. Our culture is not helping us to acknowledge this most important fact of our life and to prepare us for it. Death is a part of the cycle of life which is equally valid for everything alive on Earth. Living like every day is the last day of our life is therefore of utmost importance.
Every time when we say good-buy, there is a chance that we will not see the person any more. We should make sure that all what is important is said and no grievance or resentment is hold. We should make every effort when parting with our loved ones to say “I love you” or other appropriate words to express our love, gratitude and compassion for the other person. If we don’t do that, the suffering will be much worse in case something happens and the other person leaves our life. Knowing that our loved one died while we had a disagreement with them might become a real torture.
Let’s acknowledge that our life is finite. There will be a time when the next day will not come. Being present, grateful for every moment, every experience, every person in our life is a way to live fully. Love is the only thing which really matters; the more love we can give to others and to ourselves, the easier it will be to accept unavoidable losses throughout our lives.
Today, let’s decide that it is more important to be happy than right. Let’s make amends where necessary, and express gratitude and love to all those who are here for us all the time.
Every day is a gift. What are you going to do with this one precious day?
