Death and Life

I think about death every day. I once read that there are people who think about death every day and people who don’t. So, I was happy to know I wasn’t the only one in what some may perceive as rather morbid thinking. I  am a student of Tibetan Buddhism, and the lessons on impermanence are very close to my heart.  When I was raising my kids, death was a teacher. “Do you really want to send them off to school ticked off at them, when maybe they will never come back? Do you want them to go to bed at night feeling scolded about something?”  My life has been mostly easy in terms of good health and the ability to work in a career I love. I am careful not to take that for granted. As I know, any day, especially now at my age, I could drop dead or get a terminal disease. I even think about how I keep my home, decluttering so my kids don’t have much to go through when I die. I have a will; I have everything as organized as possible. All because I think about death every day. And as far as life, living my life, I know that change is inevitable, nothing is permanent, so therefore, I cherish my days and am grateful that my family members are alive and healthy and happy as well as my friends (given that we all have our good and bad moments). Death is my teacher. It teaches me to remember how fleeting life is, that death is always near, and to be grateful for all the days I am still here.