New Poem
Another topic I’ve been writing about in my new book is the importance of contemplating mortality. To live in full awareness of death, in a mode of acceptance, is a massive source of spiritual sustenance. It can release us from our psychological
attachments. In the light of death, attachments like ambitions, possessions, appearance and career roles have no meaning. Death also brings greater presence. The future ceases to exist, and the precious world around us becomes more real and beautiful, so that we spend much more time in awareness rather than in abstraction and absorption. Death also enhances gratitude and appreciation. Aware that everything around us - including the people around us - is temporary and fragile, we stop taking them
for granted, and see them as gifts and blessings.
Some of these insights came to me a year or so ago, when I was wandering around a local cemetery in the morning sunlight. I wrote about a poem about my experience:
In the Cemetery
I walked through a
cemetery this morning
in the clear winter sunshine, the grass crisp and white.
I paused by old weathered gravestones
straining to read the faded names and dates
then found a corner of smooth pristine stones
with inscriptions painfully clear and fresh.
The cemetery was silent and still
but as I walked I seemed to hear voices
from different decades and centuries
whispering through the icy air.
Softly but urgently, some of the dead seemed to say:
“If only we had realised that life
is so fragile
we would have savoured each passing moment.
If only we had realised that life is so brief
we would have seized every opportunity.
If only we had realised that life is so precious
we would have stopped complaining and worrying
and lived with joy and love.
“If only we had known the meaning of life
while we were still alive -
then we would have truly lived.”
There was no tone of regret or
disappointment.
The voices were tender, like loving grandparents
sharing the wisdom of their experience.
"So don’t be forgetful, as we were,” I heard them whisper.
“Wake in celebration every morning,
go to sleep in gratitude every night
and appreciate each moment in between.
"Don’t live at the surface of your mind
amidst resentment and desire and fear -
live from the deep space of your soul
spreading and sharing your
light and love.
We realised too late; we spent our lives asleep.
But there’s still time for you to wake up.”
As I walked away from the gravestones, I looked up.
The sunlight streamed and charged through my body.
The endless blue sky filled me with space and stillness.
With each breath of cold air, I felt more refreshed
gloriously awake and alive.
all best wishes for Christmas and the New Year,
Steve
