Awareness of Death. Liberated Life.
“Philosophers make dying their profession.”
- Socrates
Two great shocks happened today, which inspire this post – both deaths. The first was the tragic death of someone in my extended creative community, a photographer of the old school who was having a very hard time adjusting to the massive changes in our industry (including the commodification of photography and the subsequent decline in his income). The second death was of a vision that I have been building in collaboration with a number of fellow artists, which was killed by sudden blindside. Recently, there have been other deaths as well, friends of friends. Suffice it to say, this is a very intense time, which has stopped me in my tracks and caused me to reflect with all sincerity and humility on the subject of death.
Whether literal or metaphorical, death always comes as a huge shock for which we can never be fully prepared. This is true even when it is expected, and usually, death seems to come when least expected, often as a dramatic blindside. I write not to complain about death or to bemoan that it happens, but rather to share a very different view. I feel that death can be the most powerful clarifying force in life… that is, if we allow it to be. Death – in all its forms (in the death of a loved one or colleague, in a life-threatening prognosis, in the death of a vision that you’ve been trying to build with all your might) – enables us to see with great clarity what is truly important in life. Death helps us become aware that our time here on this planet is not unlimited, that all of our days are numbered, and therefore, that what we do each day (and each moment), has great importance. Awareness of death is the most powerful antidote to the ADD-inclination of our hyper-networked, consumption-focused society. [And if this is not true of society, I see how it is true of myself, and I also see how these inclinations dissipate in the awareness of death.] Put simply, as long as death doesn’t take us out, it offers an opportunity to deepen, clarify, and align our experience of life.
I see nothing morbid about this. There is neither gloom nor doom in this awareness. Actually, what I experience is liberation. Liberation from patterns of thought and behavior that do not serve one’s ultimate life purpose. Liberation form the struggle of trying to make things work that just won’t work (no matter how hard we try)… the radical liberation that empowers us to truly “follow your bliss,” as Joseph Campbell wisely advised us all to do.
Nor do I feel that we need to be philosophers, like Socrates, to embrace and benefit from this awareness of death. What does it mean to “make dying (our) profession”? First and foremost, I feel it is to experience this liberation and clarification of our lives catalyzed by awareness of death. To reflect upon, to stand naked before, and to reaffirm with all the power of our being our true life’s purpose. If we are able to do this not only during dramatic days, such as today, when death gets our faces, but if we’re able to do this on a consistent basis, then I feel that death and life reveal how profoundly inter-related and mutually-dependent they are, and in the process, we are given an opportunity to profoundly, humbly, powerfully, and radically align with life, with death, and with that which is far greater than ourselves. And this leads to the mystery beyond all words and description…
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Aloha Shalom,
Yet another beautiful piece. I love your writing and in this case your attempt to try to catch the mystery of death by the tail and hold it still for just a quiet moment and sincerely try to look death squarely in the eye.
I was just writing in my journal today that each day we experience thousands of births and deaths with each and every breath in and out. To learn to embrace death and die before we die is an art form that would greatly benefit us all as we dance through this life from birth to death. Practicing this art form helps us to be prepared and not get broadsided when the big death comes that all embodied beings get to face. Yes?
with a warm wave of aloha 2 u~~~
Richard
Lovely words, Shalom. I’ll never forget my aunt telling me about my grandmother’s death that she witnessed. “It was a lovely death” she said. I was by my mother’s side for the last months of her life and there when she died. I felt it was a great privilege to share her last time with her, to help her and to be part of her dying.
I wish I could be more graceful in the face of a pet’s death. That I can’t handle.
From Castaneda…
The next very important methodical technique is remembering about one’s own death.
The majority of people today are accustomed to banishing the thought of their death. And even when we come across the facts of other people passing away, we never try to imagine ourselves in their place. We assure ourselves that even if this is going to happen to us, it is a very long time ahead.
If each of us asks oneself now: “When will I die?” — the dates will be very distant, though theoretically everyone knows that people die at any age.
So, don Juan suggested that we imagine that our personified death is always with us. And if one looks quickly back over the left shoulder, then it is possible to catch a glimpse of the death. “At that moment, death is sitting next to you on the same mat, waiting for your mistake”, he said to Castaneda. And no one is aware of the moment when he or she is going to die; this is why we should not have any unfinished works.
Let me cite these remarkable words of don Juan, for it is one of his best theoretical developments:
“… How can anyone feel so important when we know that death is stalking us?
“… The thing to do when you are impatient is turn to your left and ask advice from your death. An immense amount of pettiness is dropped if your death makes a gesture to you, or if you catch a glimpse of it, or if you just have the feeling that your companion is there watching you.
“Death is a wise adviser that we have… One… has to ask death’s advice and drop the cursed pettiness that belongs to men that live their lives as if death will never tap them!
“If you do not think of your death, all your life will be just personal chaos!
“(The warrior) knows his death is stalking him and won’t give him time to cling to anything… And thus with an awareness of his death,… and with the power of his decisions a warrior sets his life in a strategic manner… and what he chooses is always strategically the best; and so he performs everything he has to with gusto and lusty efficiency!
“Life for a warrior is an exercise in strategy.
“Without the awareness of death everything is ordinary, trivial. It is only because death is stalking us that the world is an unfathomable mystery.
“You have little time and no time for crap. A wonderful state! The best of us always comes out when we are against the wall, when we feel the sword dangling overhead. …I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
enjoy the day.
Shalom,
These ideas you present here are so tremendously loaded. And ones I identify with very closely both because of my dad’s recent passing – in my arms – and because I have spent much time contemplating the Mystery of death, as a Christian and a seminarian.
As Ellen, above, has similarly said, the experience of my own dad’s passing was one of the most wonderful experiences I’ve been through. Others around me spoke openly about their bitter hatred of death and inability to reconcile with it. Talking that through with people I love, though I relish those opportunities, proved to be a far greater focus of attention than the death itself.
And as Richard said, “To learn to embrace death and die before we die” is the crux of the lesson from the story of the Resurrection. It is too easy to see that event only as something supernatural that happened long ago and far away, and not a lesson meant for us to realize that it also represents liberation from the ego, here and now. I would add: In far more than just philosophical terms, yet Socrates certainly has a point. The wisdom of many philosophies and faith traditions, my own included, give much attention to constant remembrance of death, watchfulness, stillness, impermanence . . .
Anyway, as is custom, I wish “Memory Eternal” for your friend. As long as he lives with Love in the hearts of others, he lives for real. And for your project, I’m sure you realize there are things you can take away from the experience. As long as there is Gratitude for those lessons, it is not lost, either.
-G.
Thank you for your heartfelt and wise comments, George, Richard, Ellen, and Unknown Warrior. I’m touched by the depth of your reflections, and how sincerely each one relates to my own experience.
I’m happy to say that this weekend, I had two wonderful experience on the far opposite end of the spectrum. Two of my friends are pregnant and glowing. Laying my hands on their great bellies. Feeling the kicks and taps and pulses of new life… a truly mystical experience in which it literally feels as though the universe is refreshing itself.
Feeling that baby reach out and touch my hand through his/her mother’s belly, I got the sense that perhaps birth, life, and death aren’t at all what they appear… It’s a mystery.
I was deeply moved by a piece from Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth” that I just read, which speaks to this issue from a different, but deeply related perspective. Here’s a link to the section that moved me.