Living in Death

"To be alive is the biggest fear humans have. Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive - the risk to be alive and express what we really are. Just being ourself is the biggest fear of humans. We have learned to live our life trying to satisfy other people's demands. We have learned to live by other people's point of view because of the fear of not being accepted and of not being good enough for someone else."

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

The only certainty in life is death. Once each of us is born, the march to our deaths is inevitable. As we grow from young to adulthood, there is an illusion of immortality as we grow, but the truth dawns on us as our limbs grow weak with the passing of time.

From this fear of the final end, we strive to preserve our lives with food and shelter. We struggle in the beginning to find places of comfort where we can rest and enjoy the fruits of our initial struggle. We cling to that which we know, even if it kills our spirit or hurts us physically. We settle into a routine that gives an illusion of surviving but what we are actually doing is dying slowly.

Thinking we can protect anything is an illusion. It will all come to an end. The only thing that we can do is to die without regrets. What does that mean? It means that we should live each moment to the fullest that we can. For some people they are able to meditate and reach the point where they are fully aware of each moment of their lives. There are people who choose
extreme sports and find moments of life on the edge of death. There are people in the arts that find life in their creations. There are those who find life in passing it on to the next generation.

The greatest fear in the end is not one of death. It is natural to fear death. The greatest fear is that of living. We are actually dying each day physically, we should die also to our past and embrace the future. If the past was bad, we need to forget the pain so we can live well now. If the past was good, we cannot live in the past, we can only live well now. By living well now, we will have no regrets in the future, irrespective of the outcome. Do not fear trying and failing. Do not be seduced by the momentary joy of succeeding. Do not fear living, for that fear is a premature death. Irregradless of what happened yesterday, we need to live again today.

Look at yourself each day in the mirror as if it is the last and plan to live your life to the full. Use all the resources that you have to make sure that in the midst of each daily death and rebirth, you are living in the moment. It will be good when your time comes, to know that you have truly experienced living. Find life in death and you will have no regrets when the inevitable happens.