No need to fear death

Brushstrokes with death have shown me that death is not to be feared.

More than 30 years ago, I was trapped in a fire. In the newspaper there was a photo of firefighters 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 up, the doctors said that I had survived a medical miracle; the level of carbon monoxide poisoning in my body was more than enough to kill someone my weight.

Somehow I felt that I had died, because the life that I knew died; changed forever. I had to relearn everything, including walking, talking, and eating.

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 mine.

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

These brushes with death, mine and my friend’s, have shown me that death is not to be feared.

I have faced my own mortality. I know that one day I will die. However, it will only be 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 body, and our soul.

Second: Our soul, or our spirit, so to speak, is pure energy.

Einstein, one of the most intelligent men in the world, once said that energy cannot be created (by man) or destroyed. It can only be changed from one form to another.

So I have come to this conclusion: when we die, we simply leave our bodies and our minds behind, and go in the form of our souls to another place.

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

So I am not afraid of my death. I have only one fear: not having achieved all my goals, dreams and aspirations, or not having given enough love to help other people, before I died.

Therefore, I live by this Simple Daily Principle: Treasure every moment I have with someone, even if it’s just myself.