Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The great beyond
The moment which rings down the final curtain on our earthly lives is a sombre moment, for which most of us are totally, if not partially, unprepared. The myth of the good life on this earth accompanied by pleasures and riches is so widespread that few people are prepared for the inevitable and final moment of death.
All religions talk of the continuity of life. They also speak of an ethical system in which the good is rewarded and the bad punished. Few people, however, give thought to that ultimate moment in life when they are in a comfortable state of good health. When illness assails us, we realise that we are only mortal. But very few spare a thought for what and how the final moment will be. Most of us are in fact afraid to die, because in death we face the unknown. What we see when someone dies is the dead body. What we do not witness is the entry into a new life.
Some of us panic when we become aware that our life is reaching its end and some never really come to termswith their mortality. Even the old and the feeble who have lived full lives cling to the present and fear the day when they must die.
Many accounts describe the experiences of those who nearly died and who speak of visions of an indescribable light when the burdens of life seem to fall away. They speak of experiencing warmth and an entry into a state of life that seems to be glorious. However, most of us still have a niggling feeling that death may be the final word and that we cannot be sure of a beyond.
It is true that many experiences are a way of feeling death in small ways. When we have to part with our possessions, a loved one, a friend or lose money, end a relationship, have a divorce, or simply retire, we experience death in small ways, which are a preparation for the final moment.
In our insecurity, we cling to what we have because it gives us a mistaken sense of permanence, which is not a reality. We are afraid to give up things. We cling to whatever gives us a feeling of endlessness in thislife.
If we let go, we achieve inner freedom and this I believe is the best preparation for death. Though inner freedom may be hard to arrive at, we are in everyday life faced with a choice to either cling or to let go. In letting go we experience death in a small way and that I believe will make the final passage easier for us.
Though religious belief and faith teach us to face the final moment with courage, I do feel that many of us falter. How we meet our end is not in our hands, but the manner in which we die is in our hands. We can choose to make a final act of trust in providence, or of mistrust. Depending on whether we make a choice of trust or mistrust, I believe, our end will either be a peaceful transition or a passage of inner violence. In the instance of Jesus who on the cross made his final act of submission and said, 8220;Father into your hands I commend my spirit8221;, we find an example of exemplary submission and belief.
Submission and belief are acts of faith that are the hardest choices tomake. We would rather have life go the smooth way that we dream of without trials and distress. Instead, we are constantly facing difficult situations and eventualities, when we realise that our lives are not fully under our control. To be autonomous is to strive towards inner freedom and not to control the circumstances of our lives.
Submission and inner freedom prepare us for death. If we have believed throughout out lives, our end may not be easy, but it will be the moment for which we have prepared and lived our total lives.
