Life happens so quickly and so slowly all at once. We go through life, taking it for granted and believing we have all the time in the world, and then one day we find ourselves staring in the mirror only to realize our 20th, 40th, or 50th high school reunion is happening this year. The weight of this wonderful life feeds my words for this article. Juanita, my great aunt who recently past, this article is dedicated to you.
Growing up, I was no stranger to death; not in the way you might think. In fact, I was lucky enough to not have a close member of my family pass away until I was at the age of 34. However, my family lived next to our local funeral home, which was convenient as my father was the local funeral director. This experience led to a unique perspective on life and death. Throughout my childhood, my brother and I frequently spent time playing hide and seek around caskets on display, watching our father print out obituaries, and experiencing a side of life most people do not see until they are older.
When I look back on those early childhood years, I realize now, I was witnessing this great cycle of life. Particularly the ending phase. I am grateful to have been introduced to death in such a manner; a manner in which it was everyday life, because it is. Death is all around us. We die a hundred times over in our own personal life’s journey before we make our final transition out of this world. Embracing death, allows you to embrace change. You are allowed to shed your old skin which is no longer serving you and ‘level up’. Seeing death is also brings awareness to the limited time we have here on this earth. We will all reach this final transition one day; it is up to you what you make of the time in-between.
So many of us are living our lives distracted both at home and at work; in fact the entire marketing world is built around these distractions. A study from 2022 states that the typical person is distracted 31.6 to 60 times a day. This study also stated only 12% of employees are actually productive at work, since the pandemic and the digital overload. Each distraction pulls our attention from our main focus for an average 20 minutes. And so, with everyone and everything around us pulling for your attention, when was the last time you were able to focus attention on yourself. When was the last time you reflected on your life?
And so I ask you…
What will your time here be made of?
Will you make a difference in the life of another?
How is your life being filled?
Are you living the life you want?
What are some of the personal deaths you have experienced within yourself to make you who you are today?
If your final phase was to begin today; would you have regrets?
When I am in a transitional time, I like to step away, decompress and reflect. During these times, I ask myself similar questions. The passing of my great aunt, a woman I knew by her laugh and her energetic warmth, was one of these occasions. What I discovered during this reflection is gratitude. Gratitude is the frequency of receiving. It is also the same vibrational frequency of love, 540MHz. This powerful frequency is so healing and fulfilling that within it, your body has the ability to leave you feeling lighter physically, emotionally, and mentally. If you struggle calling in your own gratitude, I suggest listening to vibrational music in the 540MHz frequency.
If you are in a time a transition, change, or death (this can be the physical death of a loved one or death of your old self) step away, decompress and do your own reflections. Below are a set of guided gratitude statements which you may choose to follow and journal on.
-I see my childhood: the good, the bad, the struggles. I am so grateful for the lessons I have learned and the empathy I have gained from these experiences. I take a deep breath in. The air fills my lungs and I am thankful. Grateful to be alive today and yesterday.
-I see my future. I envision where my life is to take me. I see the impact my life will have on my friends, family, and others. I am so grateful to live this life and interact with those whom I care for. I take a deep breath in. The air fills my lungs and I am thankful. Grateful to be alive today and tomorrow.
-I see my imprint on the earth. I see how I am to care for our Mother Earth and what I may need to do to increase my care or deepen my devotion. I am present to the wind around me. I hear the birds call. I see the sun shining. I take a deep breath in. The air fills my lungs and I am thankful. I feel the air travel in and out of my body. I am alive and I am grateful. Grateful to be alive today, yesterday, and tomorrow.
I encourage you to journal regarding anything that came up during this article.
Death, in all forms, is a difficult subject and can invoke many emotions.
References:
- Reclaimai. 2022, Task Management Trends Report, https://reclaim.ai/blog/task-management-trends-report; 06.21.2024
Megan, I loved reading your blog and just taking the few moments to really think about it. It’s so true that time flies by and I know that I don’t self -reflect enough most of the time. I admire that you think about breathing in and out and being glad you’re alive. This helped me to slow down a little today rather than go, go, go.
I so look forward to future entries of yours and am happy you’ve started this.