Find a comfortable seat and close the eyes.
And relax both your body and your mind.
Take some deep breaths.
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
Let go of any tension.
And come back to breathing normally through the nose.
And pick one person that you love or that you admire.
And if no one comes to mind,
Simply be patient,
Wait,
Someone will come.
Even maybe your pet.
It's perfectly fine.
And I want you to reflect on how lucky you are to have this person in your life.
Think of all the ways in which their presence makes your life better.
And also realize that they are mortal.
They are not going to be here forever.
I don't want you to feel depressed or morbid about this thought.
Simply entertain it for a moment.
This is just a fact.
They are mortals.
They will eventually die.
And this kind of reflection allows you to recognize that your time with them is limited.
You have to appreciate each and every moment.
Savior it.
And all the smallest things like small disagreements,
They're not important.
Notice how the awareness of their mortality brings a new perspective on their relationship.
Now reflect on your own mortality.
That you eventually will pass away and die.
Your time here is limited.
And you don't know when that will happen.
And again,
No need to be depressed about this.
It's just a fact.
But be aware of it.
And then ask yourself,
How do you want to spend your life,
This precious time,
Limited time that you have?
Do you want to suffer and make other people suffer?
Or do you want to be happy and make other people happy?
And what are the qualities that you can cultivate to be happy and to help others be happy?
And the things that annoy you,
Once you are aware of your mortality,
Do they still bother you at the same level?
Do they lose their power over you?
What is really important for you?
No need to have an answer right away.
Simply recognize that being mortal means there are certain things that are not important.
And there are other things that are more important.
Love,
Connection,
Peace,
Self-realization,
Helping others,
Being content.
This is the power of reflecting on mortality of your own or other people.
It puts everything in perspective.
And if you want,
You can keep practicing,
You can keep visualizing other people and reflecting on their mortality,
Or you can keep reflecting on your own.
Either way,
Don't limit yourself to this time to reflect on death.
During the day,
Just allow yourself to have really brief,
Flickering thoughts about mortality.
Not to be morbid,
But simply to appreciate the preciousness of life,
This gift that we received that allows us to experience the world and ourselves.
The only sure chance at living that we have and how we don't have to waste it,
It's precious.
And I wish you good luck.
