Today OMC meditative time of togetherness will be dedicated to Honey, a steadfast companion on the path for the family of CREWmember the_KamikaZen. With Anna (companion of babyduck72 and bubbha) and Honey in our hearts, we will dedicate our efforts to all. Please meet at 12noon PDT/3pm EDT. _/\_
Thinking about Honey and Anna made me think about the suffering of death. Upsetting as it was, it motivated me.
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear CREW. Sitting with you all today was a great comfort for me and my wife, Gloria.
ReplyDeleteAs difficult as it was, taking care of Honey all thru her last days and seeing her slowly fade away became one of the most profound teachings I could have ever received on old age, sickness and death.
We have 'commoditized' death to such an extreme in our modern world that we no longer have to expose ourselves to the actual reality of it.
When one of our loved ones comes to his or her final stages there is always some clean an comfortable wall shielding us from what is actually happening.
Hospitals will take care of the ill while we wait outside, then mortuaries will take the body away and place it inside a nice box… they will even make it clean and life-like so that when we do choose to open the coffin we never really see the face of death, but only what appears to be someone peacefully sleeping.
I never noticed just how much trouble we take to shield ourselves from the mere thought of death, not even when my grandparents or my father died. Only now, as I remember these past week's events, can I fully appreciate how much my being there for my cat brought out all the feelings I had so carefully bottled up after their deaths, convinced I was over it merely because there had been a funeral and a burial I had attended.
Many teachers say it's always easy to practice the path when the sun shines and our life is wonderful, but the true test comes when you hit reality head-on.
Having the teachings has been a great support for us, but having the Sangha (or cyber-sangha, if you may) has been invaluable.
Thank you all for your kind words and prayers. As I told MetalBuddha, I hope Honey will enjoy the best first-barrier on the most amazing gig between this and her future life, and I'm sure Anna will also be there rocking like there's no tomorrow.
Much metta, and sorry for the extra-long comment. _/|\_ :-) \m/