Hello and welcome to this contemplative meditation.
My name is Wanna and I'm honored to guide you through this journey that will give you a fuller appreciation of your life.
Begin by settling into a comfortable posture.
You may choose to sit up or lay down,
Hands resting gently on your lap or by your side.
Now connect to your breath,
Your source of life.
Notice the beautiful rise and fall of your chest.
With every inhale,
Breathe in the richness of life.
With every exhale,
Give thanks to your breath for keeping you alive.
As you continue to breathe slowly and deeply at a pace that is enjoyable for you,
Contemplate the following thoughts.
We all take it for granted that our breath flows so easily in and out.
The truth is that it doesn't matter what age you are,
At any time you can take a breath and there may never be another.
It can happen at any time and in any place.
Every time you get in the car,
Every time you walk across the street,
Every time you go to bed,
It can very well be the last thing you do.
No matter what you find yourself doing,
Eating,
Sleeping,
Transiting,
You can be sure that someone died that way.
Yes,
The one certainty we all face in life is death.
It is inevitable.
Rich or poor,
Young or old,
Strong or weak,
Healthy or ill,
Everyone eventually dies.
Death is not a morbid thought.
Death is the greatest teacher.
One day,
This very breath that comes so easily to you right now will be your last.
Yes,
That may sound bleak,
But it is the ultimate truth and when you accept this truth,
When you face the inevitability of your mortality,
You embrace the preciousness of your life.
Being unwilling to face death doesn't make it go away.
It only makes you forget to take full advantage of your life right here,
Right now.
Take a big breath in and out and really let that settle in.
We came into this world alone and we leave alone.
You aren't taking your clothes,
Car or home with you.
So then,
Do these material objects matter as much as we may have thought?
No one ever says they wish they had a bigger TV on their deathbed.
People usually regret the experiences they never had,
The things they never said or did,
Not the newest phone or car upgrade they never got.
Another big breath in and out as you consider that.
I would like you to now take some time to silently reflect on the following questions and ideas from Michael A.
Singer's phenomenal book,
Untethered Soul.
Start by taking a good hard look at the things you think you need to make your life complete.
Do you really need them as much as you think?
How much do they really cost you mentally,
Emotionally,
Physically?
Now reflect on how you spend your time and energy each week.
Imagine if you knew you were going to die within a week or month.
How would that realization change the way you do things?
How would your priorities change?
How would your thoughts change?
What would you say and to who?
What would you do with your last week?
Now if that's really what you would do with your last week,
What are you doing with the rest of your time now?
Wasting it?
Throwing it away?
Treating it like it's not something precious?
What are you doing with your life?
This is what death asks you.
Why wait until everything is taken from you before you dig deep inside to live from your highest potential?
You mustn't be afraid to reflect on death.
Let it help you live your life more fully,
Making every moment matter.
After all,
That is what would happen if you were given only one week to live.
It would be the most important seven days you would ever have.
Everything would be a million times more meaningful in your final week.
Now what if you were to live every single week that way?
Why not be daring enough to regularly reflect on how you would live that last week and then go ahead and live it?
Death is truly one of the greatest teachers of all.
No person or situation can teach you as much.
Unfortunately,
Not many of us choose to learn from death.
While great spiritual texts tell you that you are not your body,
Death proves that to you.
While a lofty quote can remind you that material things aren't important,
Death takes them all away from you in a flash.
While laws can tell you that men and women of all races are all equal and there is no difference between the rich and poor,
Death equalizes all.
It doesn't matter how old you are,
At any single time you could be taking your very last breath.
It happens all the time,
To infants,
To teenagers,
To people of all ages,
And not just the old.
One breath and they're gone.
None of us know when our time or place will be.
Are you going to wait until your last moment to let death be your teacher or will you learn from it now?
A wise person embraces the complete reality,
Inevitability,
And unpredictability of death.
So make every breath,
Every step,
Every word,
And every connection count.
May you embrace your life to the fullest by embracing death to the fullest.
As you breathe in,
Silently repeat,
I embrace life to the fullest.
And as you breathe out,
Silently say,
By embracing death to the fullest,
Inhale,
I embrace life.
Exhale by embracing death.
In I embrace life.
Out by embracing death.
Repeat breaths in and out,
Repeating on your own.
And with that final concluding thought,
We transition out of this contemplative meditation.
So when you're ready,
Feel your body to ground connection,
Anchoring you into the here and now.
Slowly wiggle your fingers,
Then your toes,
And flutter open your eyes.
Thank you for taking the time to deeply connect to the preciousness of your life by facing the inevitability of your death.
You are very brave.
As always,
Please let me know how your journey went,
And follow along for more to come.
