Category: Death

Death is Your Body Letting Your Soul Go Home

Jun. 28 Death 3 comments

Death is not what we think it to be.
Death is simply your body letting your soul go home.
It is just the time when your soul
Doesn’t need its body anymore and it goes home to rest.

Earth is not the end all
Not even Earth is forever.

We come here to grow our souls.
Once we are done, we have to go somewhere.
So we go were we came from.
Home.

And we are whole again with knowledge
And without challenges as we know them now.

When someone passes
We get scared because of how or why
However it has to happen.

Our bodies themselves are designed to age with experiences
So that we know we are almost done
Until we are done.

No one is here to live forever.
Until this day I do not anyone who is 150 years old.

We are just scared of death because of what we do not know
Not what we do know.

We are safe, even in death of our bodies.
Our souls are durable and endless and eternal.
Not even wishy washy to say that,
It is just the truth.

We are here to live
So while we are here we live
As our soul comes to do what it came to do.

Death isn’t about us
It is part of the plan.
God isn’t hurting us to “kill” us.

We have choices on Earth
And as humans there are many different ways to go home.
So when we don’t need our bodies
We leave those behind
And we go home to review what we have learned.

Some of us come back for more
And some of us decide to never come back.
No big deal, just choices, growth and love.

 

by Nadia Khalil

Image courtesy of F. Villate.

Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

Jun. 03 Death 2 comments

When you have only weeks until your departure from this earth, you have a choice:  you can focus on all the things you’ve enjoyed and accomplished in life, or you can look at the list of things that you regret.  Depending on the life that you’ve lived, the joys will outweigh the regrets, but what if they don’t?  What kinds of things do people regret when they feel death knocking at their door?

Bonnie Ware worked in palliative care (similar to hospice) for many years.  In her line of work, she constantly encountered people who had only between 3 to 12 weeks left to live.  She has written an excellent article and is in the process of writing a book about the conversations she had with her patients.  Bonnie was able to experience first-hand people’s reaction to their own mortality: the variety of emotions, the inner growth, and eventually the peace the patients found by the time the departed.

Bonnie has put together a list of the top 5 regrets that kept resurfacing:

1.  I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

2.  I wish I didn’t work so hard.  This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship.  Women also spoke of this regret.  But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners.

3.  I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings. Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others.  As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming.  Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

4.  I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they let golden friendships slip by over the years.

5.  I wish that I had let myself be happier. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content.  When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

Living a full life, a life that is uniquely yours, is one of the best ways to avoid having these regrets when your time comes.  Find out what life you’d like to live and just do it.  Don’t worry so much about pleasing your boss, your neighbor or your parents.  In the end it is your life and your memories that will matter.  Try to incorporate fun activities with your loved ones.  Pencil in some time to laugh and be silly.   In today’s world of instant communication via social media sites like Facebook, chat rooms and Twitter, you’ll find it easier to share a good conversation or a good laugh with your friends.  Figure out what makes you happy and go do it.  What are you waiting for?

If death was at your doorstep right now, would you be able to say that you have no regrets?

 

To read Bonnie Ware’s original article go here.

Image courtesy of spuffy12.

Year of Deadliest Tornadoes leave Thousands Grieving

May. 30 Death no comments

Help is available to those who grieve the loss of a loved one.

by Sandra Champlain
May 31, 2011

2011 has already equaled the record for deaths by tornadoes in a single year with 519 killed in the United States, with still one month to go in the tornado season, The National Weather Service said.

Alabama, which was hit by a wave of tornadoes last month, has suffered the most in 2011 with 243 confirmed deaths. There have been 139 deaths in Missouri from the Joplin tornado, followed by 33 deaths in Tennessee, 31 in Mississippi and 24 in North Carolina.

To some of us in other areas of the country, the tornadoes seem unfortunate, as we watch updates on the evening news.  Before long we are back to ‘channel surfing’ and may catch a reality show, have a snack, then go to bed.  We are peaceful, our loved ones are safe and sound, and the lights go out.

However, hundreds of thousands of people do not have such a luxury.  In Joplin alone, over 49,000 lives were impacted by the tornado.  Many of those people lost their homes, lost their businesses, lost their jobs, lost their every belonging, and many ultimately lost their dreams.  Although our lives are now filled with other activities, these people continue to experience the most painful emotion known to mankind:  Grief.

What is grief? Anyone who has ever had a loved one die, or lost a job or a relationship, or have been told they have a life-threatening illness knows what grief is.  They may not be able to verbalize a definition for you, but they can tell you about the immeasurable pain, sadness, anger, shock, rage, sleepless nights, the need to be alone and the genuine feeling that “life will never be the same.”

Most of us have never been educated about grief and are never prepared for how grief will impact our lives us until a tragedy occurs.  Most grieving people do not understand what they are experiencing is normal and there is a physiological reason why our bodies must experience grief.  Many of the bereaved sink into deep depression and live with regrets.  Many will allow their dreams, aspirations and relationships to die, when suffering a significant loss.  Some even commit suicide.

There is help available right now if you or someone you know is grieving!
The website, www.survivegrief.com is dedicated to helping people through grief and gives massive amount of hope.  A FREE 70 minute audio called “How to Survive Grief” is available to listen to or to download.  This audio gives details about why we grieve, what to expect while grieving, how to lessen the pain of grief, how to help others who are grieving and finally, gives profound hope to all that suffer.

Regardless of if or how you have been impacted by the tornadoes.  One thing is for sure:  grief will eventually twist its way through your life unexpected, as it did with the tornado victims.  I ask that you please do your part, find out who is grieving in your life, and share with them www.survivegrief.com.  Thank you.

To listen to the How to Survive Grief audio, click here. Click on the If You Are Grieving link, scroll to the CD link.

 

Sandra Champlain lives in Byfield. She is chef to race car teams and owns a coffee and chocolate store (www.kentcoffee.com). However, after the death of her father in 2010, she chose to release a free audio ‘How to Survive Grief,’ to give people hope and ease the pain their pain.

 

Image courtesy of Raingarden.