Instead of thinking about life, I want you to think about death.
It might seem strange, but stay with me, please. In exploring death, we can start to lead a life that caters to the type of happiness we desire.
The Deathbed Questionnaire
While you’re preparing to leave this world, what do you want to say about happiness to those around you? What message to you want to transmit? what knowledge do you want to pass down? What does happiness mean at the end of a life?
These are hard questions. They are hard because we don’t like to think about death. And they are hard because often times, we don’t consider what true happiness is. Actually, we’ve lost touch with that sense of happiness and that self. We’ve lost touch with our inner child.
So I ask you to spare a few minutes and consider yourself and your happiness? Now is the time. Let’s take a leap into self, one question at a time.
Who are you? |
Deep, deep down in that tunnel of self, in that space between your ears and just behind your eyes, down the rabbit hole –who are you? Not your work or job title, not your role in your family unit –but you, that spark of life that resides within you, the same one that animates your body.
What is your idea of happiness? |
What does happiness look, smell, feel, talk, and walk like? Take a moment, be mindful. Seriously, like be still, find a quiet place for yourself, and think about that for a few minutes, please.
That’s one of the biggest issues plaguing us today. We cannot find the time or space to be still. We’re never not busy. We’re too busy to be still. In stillness we can ask ourselves these questions, get to know self, separate ourselves from the machine. And in many ways get back to our original self. Look at how graceful the trees sit still.
Are you happy? Are you really happy? |
This is huge. A huge, heavy question that demands our attention. To live a life that isn’t happy is doing a disservice to the life we’ve been gift. Life is a gift. It was given to you to enjoy it.
Are you living to your own personal potential, doing what you love, doing what makes you feel good, doing what makes you feel like you and in turn making you happy?
Just because some of us say we’re happy, we’re only using empty words and lack of emotional connection. Our versions of happy tend to be void.
If you’re not happy, you’re not alone. Studies show that the majority of people across the globe are unhappy. I find this statistic difficult to swallow; and you should, too. We’ve got this life to live, why waste it being unhappy. Find what you want to do and do it! The goal is to arrive at our deathbed with as few regrets as possible. If I didn’t say this to you, I would not be fulfilling my dharma. May all beings be happy, even when dying.
