Spoiler alert: In the end… we all die.
Death and dying was a subject that was covered while I was pursing my undergraduate and graduate degree in Recreational Therapy.
I had real life experience with this while completing practicum experience at Woodlands Retirement Community in the early 2000s and volunteer work at Heartland of Beckley in the late 90s.
I’ve lost loved ones in life. You’ve lost loved ones too.
Past great, well-known leaders have lived their full lives and passed, like Lincoln.
Today, it is 2018.
In 100 years it will be 2118. That year even sounds odd to say.
Most people reading this blog entry today won’t be alive in 2118. I’d be turning 138-years-old, which is probably not likely.
The truth is: we only have a limited time here on Earth.
Existentialism is my favorite philosophy. It has to do with big life questions like:
- Who are we?
- Why are we here?
- What is the meaning of life?
- What is the grand purpose of everything?
- What consists of a good, decent life?
I don’t have the answers.
Dr. Raymond Moody interviewed people who were “pronounced dead” and then came back to life. He published his research in his book, Life After Life. Moody summed up two questions that people often reported having during their time away.
- How did you love other people?
- What did you learn?
Those two questions resonate with me.
Here is a video I created with my own personal Definiteness of Purpose statement – which is very congruent with the two questions Dr. Moody found people with near death experiences.
On learning:
- I regret to say that I’m not certain what I should learn. Currently, I learn what I enjoy learning about and keep an open mind to learning more.
On loving:
- Gary Chapman, in his book, The Five Love Languages describes five ways to express love. These include: words of affirmation, [healthy] physical touch, chores/ helping, giving gifts, and quality time. Chapman had written this book for couples. He later wrote a version for loving children. I believe his five love languages can be used for expressing love for strangers too.
On dying:
I’ve heard that many people on the death bed don’t regret the things they did with their lives. They often report regretting those things they didn’t do.
On living:
And if you want more inspiration — Listen to Lee Ann Womack’s song, I hope you dance.