Death Need Not Be Feared

Brushes with death have shown me that death need not be feared.

Over 30 years ago, I was trapped in a fire. In the newspaper was a picture, of firemen carrying me out on a stretcher, in what appeared to be a body bag.

I was in a coma for some time. When I woke, doctors said it was a medical miracle that I survived; the level of carbon monoxide poisoning in my body was more than enough to kill someone of my weight.

In some ways it felt that I had died, because the life I knew died; it changed forever. I had to relearn everything, even how to walk, talk, and eat.

Life after the fire is one in which a traumatic brain injury (TBI) rules my mind, and has become my friend and foe.

That was my personal brush with death.

Last year I had another brush with death – not my own.

It was the sudden death of Michael Blum, my best friend of 25 years. Michael’s death without warning affected me deeply. It circled me round through time, to the fire and back. My friend’s death has made my life forever different.

These brushes with death – my own, and my friend’s, have shown me that death need not be feared.

I have come to grips with my own mortality. I know that some day I will die. However, it will be only an earthly death, not the death of my soul or spirit.

How do I know this?

First: We are all made up of three parts – our mind, our bodies, and our souls.

Second: Our soul, or our spirit, if you will, is pure energy.

Einstein, one of the smartest men of the world, once said that energy cannot be created (by man), nor destroyed. It can only be changed from one form to another.

So I have come to this realization: When we die we simply leave our bodies and our mind behind, and we go in the form of our souls to somewhere else.

Where that place is? It’s a bit of speculation… For me, I think that it’s back to where we were created, to a place I call home or God, or the Source or the Creator.

So, I do not fear my death. There is only one fear that I have – It is that I will not have accomplished all of my goals, dreams, and aspirations, or that I will not have given enough love to help other people, before I die.

Therefore, I live by this Simple Daily Principle: Treasure each moment I have with anyone, even if it is only myself.