Almost
none of us talk about it---the subject of death. We hide it under a
blanket named the cares and concerns of daily living. Undertaker
cosmeticians meanwhile dress the deceased to appear as if in deep
sleep. It is all of it understandable; yet so momentous the
passage from life to death, is it not worthwhile to suggest it
be afforded thoughtful and considerate preparation?
Wills
put in order. Funeral arrangements made. If death is imminent,
farewells extended to family and friends.
But
is there a responsibility to prepare to die for the sake of
oneself? Is there duty to contemplate the matter, to weigh the pounds
and measure the feet of what is the last act of living? Is there value to ask oneself--- how does a person die well? Is there worth to
evaluate an enigmatic question? How do I die with peace of mind
even if in physical agony?
Decades
ago, a friend had hurled himself out a four story window. He had
approached near to successful suicide. An attending surgeon, at his
hospital bed after the operation, reportedly said to him that after
we doctors did everything medically possible to save you, you
hovered between life and death for two hours.
This
fellow experienced a lesson he tells me he will never forget. Yes,
without emergency medical aid he'd have died, undoubtedly, but it was
spiritual healing that saved his life.
Is
living then as to cultivate the spirit of life--- as opposed to the
spirit of death--- a beneficial method to prepare for death?
I say yes. Whether or not individual, personal
consciousness exists after death is not so much the question at hand
here. The question being asked is how can we die well if we have not
lived well?
My
friend who attempted suicide still lives. He learns. I can see the changes myself in this now much older man.
He is learning to live to add rather than detract from life. He is
learning to respond rather than react. He is learning how to
distinguish, so to speak, between clever disguise and authentic
apparition. His character development is more important to him than
material accomplishment, yet he does accept the call to make the most of
his talent. In fact, he believes he will live after he does die.
Scientific absurdity. But to him, this personal belief is the most
succinct ingredient in his recipe book on how best to prepare to
meet death.