Death and Impermanence (reflections on Ash Wednesday)
"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
While there's much that could be said about Ash Wednesday this week, I'm going to (try to) say less.
I believe the best gift I can give is not an essay on the brevity of life and the beauty of our eternal soul,
but rather an invitation to contemplation.
Seriously, feel free to stop reading here and meditate on the Ash Wednesday quote above.
Many of us never take time to face the shadow that lurks in the back of all of our minds
and consider the (hard to admit) truth that life implies death.
We are all bound for it,
whether we want to consider it or not.
And in a culture that is completely attached to form as its primary identity,
this can be really difficult for us to digest.
In our society we hide death,
we try to not talk about it,
we treat it like a curse word,
and avoid the topic at all costs;
All the while not realizing that the more we avoid it
the more scary and painful it becomes.
We're scared because what actually happens to us
beyond conscious existence
is an absolute mystery.
We have some ideas, stories, and guesses
but the truth is,
no one really knows.
And at first that can seem extremely disorienting and quite bleak.
But I think you will see, upon deeper contemplation, that death's mystery is its beauty.
Ash Wednesday is a reminder that from dust we came and to dust we shall return.
This statement, when observed with right view, is a gift... a surprise.
Why do you dread a gift? Why are you anxious about a surprise?
Because you don't trust the Giver of the gift.
To remember death is yet another opportunity to surrender
and trust that the Orchestrator is benevolent, not malevolent.
So, instead of avoiding death
or arguing about beliefs and concepts of what happens after death,
use this statement as a catalyst for engaging the fullness of life: Here & now.
Contemplating death is an invitation to participate with the beauty and abundance in every moment,
if you have Eyes to see and Ears to hear,
and witness that simply being conscious and connected on this beautiful planet is pure bliss.
Ash Wednesday,
the Stoic "Memento Mori" (Remember Death),
and the teaching of impermanence
is a reorientation to live in tune with Divine alignment.
It's a purification from distractions
and expansive awareness to what life is truly about:
The realization and expression of Love.
Death teaches us that if we digest the truth of its inevitability
we will (paradoxically) be inspired to live today with greater love, intention, awareness, abundance, and aligned action;
And trust that whatever happens after this bodily form is good.
-Luke
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