If

If you don’t stop looking into your past, you’re going to miss out on your future. 

Bob

Untethered Soul - Contemplating Death - Pg 158

Take a moment to look at the things you think you need. Look at how much time and energy you put into various activities. Imagine if you knew you were going to die within a week or a month. How would that change things? How would your priorities change? How would your thoughts change? Think honestly about what you would do with your last week. What a wonderful thought to contemplate. Then ponder this ques-tion: If that's really what you would do with your last week, what are you doing with the rest of your time? Wasting it? Throwing it away? Treating it like it's not something precious? What are you doing with life? That is what death asks you.

Let's say you're living life without the thought of death, and the Angel of Death comes to you and says, "Come, it's time to go." You say,

"But no. You're supposed to give me a warning so I can decide what I want to do with my last week. I'm supposed to get one more week." Do you know what Death will say to you? He'll say, "My God! I gave you fifty-two weeks this past year alone. And look at all the other weeks I've given you.Why would you need one more? What did you do with all those?" If asked that, what are you going to say? How will you answer? "I wasn't paying attention... I didn't think it mattered." That's a pretty amazing thing to say about your life.

Death is a great teacher. But who lives with that level of awareness?

Whoever you are, wherever you are....tell someone that you love...that you love them.

I can't say this any more clear than I am typing it. Tell someone you love them. Tell someone you're sorry. Accept an apology. Mend the broken fence. Open the door. Drive to see them. Hug them. Look them in the eyes and say, you love them. If they're alive, tell them how much you care. It will do as much for you  as it will them. Get that coldness out of your heart. It will always be a waste of time. Go towards those you cherish. Hold their hand. Make them smile. Smile. Say I love you. Say I care about what you think and feel. Relive old memories. You will not feel better about holding that grudge, you will not feel better about standing your ground....believe me. In the end, you will see that you have wasted time being angry, upset and doing nothing. Don't. Let go. Let in. Let bygones be bygones. 

We only have this one life. One god damn life. When you're dead, you think you will give AF about how "strong" you were to stand your ground? No. We have this one life. We have this one life. We have this one life. Say it with me. 

I'm sorry if I hurt you. I'm sorry if I ever made you sad. I'm sorry if I was not the person you thought I was. I made mistakes. I wish I could've been better. I care about you. I hope you're good. I hope you're thriving. I hope people love you. I hope you love someone. 

Wherever you are. I love you.

Bob

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

Untethered Soul - Chapter 17 Contemplating Death

It is not really that I ever would seek death out. I was scared of me personally dying when I was young, like in my teen years. I definitely wouldn't have chosen the path I walked on dealing with death at ages I don't really believe people should have to deal with it. Especially 16. You also shouldn't have to lose close friends as early as late 20's and 30's. Alas, tough times hit my family in a profound way the last 10 years. It's one thing to lose someone who wasn't a real integral part of your adult life. The last 10 years, my family, we've been through the ringer. People can say this or that about life. I have been through just about all of it. The parts I haven't been through, mostly cause I was dealing with helping someone survive through pain/abuse/situations or I was dealing with my own trauma from that stuff. In the last 10 years, we lost my grandfather, then his first born, my mom at 61, her sister around the same age, who was my backboard for all things back to my mom, my grandfather on my dad's side, a guy who always made me feel like I was telling him something new even though he had been around the world twice with the Navy in the Korean War and lived more than many men through so much and then my other aunt at 63, a person who loved and helped so many, and then my father. There is no escaping we will all die. And yes, some can say this or that about being fortunate that we had these people; I mean, for good people who loved us, of course we are fortunate. No one is thankful that they had an asshole in their life. ha. I just happened to have my podcasts lined up and the recent one was our relationship with death. This podcast just happened to coincide with my morning reading.....a new chapter....one that I wasnt expecting. I have been reading this book and like 9 others over the past 5 years and I sure didn't expect this chapter...This was the first page and it sure did draw me in. 

Bob

CHAPTER 17

Contemplating death

It is truly a great cosmic paradox that one of the best teachers in all of _ life turns out to be death. No person or situation could ever teach you as much as death has to teach you. While someone could tell you that you are not your body, death shows you. While someone could remind you of the insignificance of the things that you cling to, death takes them all away in a second. While people can teach you that men and women of all races are equal and that there is no difference between the rich and the poor, death instantly makes us all the same.

The question is, are you going to wait until that last moment to let death be your teacher? The mere possibility of death has the power to teach us at any moment. A wise person realizes that at any moment they may breathe out, and the breath may not come back in. It could happen any time, in any place, and your last breath is gone. You have to learn from this. A wise being completely and totally embraces the reality, the inevitability, and the unpredictability of death.

Any time you're having trouble with something, think of death.

Two of my favorites...in Mom Mom's kitchen in Darby...during Christmas. We had love, we had joy. That is for sure. I am so grateful these two women were part of my journey. In my heart I continuet to carry their memories....and their huge, loving personalities. 

Untethered soul - The Spiritual Path of Nonresistance pg 155

The key is to just relax and release, and deal only with what's left in front of you. You do not need to worry about the rest. If you relax and release, you will see that it puts you through tremendous spiritual growth.

You'll start to feel an enormous amount of energy awaken inside of you.

You will feel much more love than you've ever felt before. You will feel more peace and contentment, and eventually nothing will ever disturb you again.

You truly can reach a state in which you never have any more stress, tension, or problems for the rest of your life. You just have to realize that life is giving you a gift, and that gift is the flow of events that takes place between your birth and your death. These events are exciting, challenging, and create tremendous growth. To comfortably handle this flow of life, your heart and mind must be open and expansive enough to encompass reality. The only reason they're not is because you resist. Learn to stop resisting reality, and what used to look like stressful problems will begin to look like the stepping-stones of your spiritual journey.

Vivid White

Again, I have no control over what is coming when I fall asleep...

A memory locked so far down, the reboot could not be self inflicted. It was all of minutes that this happened in our lives, yet the memory stands alone in my mind. Two people standing still amongst strangers passing us by in life. Winter’s cold, yet our warmth and love is apparent. I saw you coming about 100 feet before we met there. Standing still, faces touching. Even in the dream your winter hat is visible, snow falling, a quick private kiss and I love you and eyes closing. There is no one else in the world right now. 

The vivid white of falling snow and winter’s warmth….there is no darkness even though the sun has not yet risen. 

I awoke, grateful and smiling.