Anthony DeMello, in his book, The Heart of the Enlightened, tells the story of
A merchant in Baghdad sent his servant on an errand to the bazaar and the man came back white with fear and trembling. “Master,” he said, “while I was in the marketplace, I walked into a stranger. When I looked him in the face, I found that it was Death. He made a threatening gesture at me and walked away. Now I am afraid. Please give me a horse so that I can ride at once to Samarra and put as great a distance as possible between Death and me.”
The merchant–in his anxiety for the man—gave him his swiftest steed. The servant was on it and away in a trice.
Later in the day the merchant himself went down to the bazaar and saw Death loitering there in the crowd. So he went up to him and said, “You made a threatening gesture at my poor servant this morning. What did it mean?”
“That was no threatening gesture, sir,” said Death. “It was a start of surprise at seeing him here in Baghdad.”
“Why would he not be in Baghdad? This is where the man lives.”
“Well, I had been given to understand that he would join me in Samarra tonight, you see.”
Embrace Your Death
Regardless of how long we run from death by prolonging our life through diet, exercise, and cutting edge medical interventions, each of us will die one day.
The first step in learning to dance with our death is to accept that death is a part of life.
“Life and death are a package deal. You cannot pull them apart.” Frank Ostaseski, The Five Invitations. Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully
Death is part of the circle dance of life. Fearing death keeps us from living fully.
Rethink Your Priorities
Embracing death as our life-long dance partner helps us to live our lives more fully. Buddhist teacher, Pema Chödrön, asks, “Given the certainty of my death and the uncertainty of the day of my death, what’s the most important thing for me to be doing right now?”
When we dance with our death, we choose our priorities carefully, and in choosing our priorities carefully we come to the end of life with fewer regrets.
Dancing with death does not have to be scary if we remember that we have come from Love and are returning to Love. Death is our doorway back to the Love we have come from.
Jim Cyr is a trained spiritual companion who helps older adults reflect on the meaning of their lives and how God has been present or absent as they face the challenges of aging and end of life.
You can learn more about Jim at www.jimcyr.com.