Dear friends,
Welcome to another of this real life series of reflections.
Today we are going to take a look at the need for our exercise of compassion on the journey between life and death.
Before we begin,
Let's pause for one minute to give thanks for our presence in this time and place.
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Let's spend one minute in respectful memory of this good lady.
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Welcome back.
As I held Mary's hand in what turned out to be her last hours,
She unspokenly gave me the inspiration for this meditation,
Which I share today with her Insight Timer community.
Mary wrapped her hand around my thumb as tightly as a baby always would.
This instinctive grip brought more directly to my mind the thought of our common journey between life and death.
When we look at a baby or a young person,
We do not normally reflect on the shortness of life.
It's not obvious to us that the journey of life can have its ups and downs.
It's circumstances that can sometimes make our behaviour fall short of what we would wish it to be.
Circumstances can make or break a life,
Can turn us into saints or sinners.
Mary's baby-like grip on my thumb was a reminder to me that we need to exercise more compassion for one another on this journey between our coming into this world and our departure from it.
Let's pause for another minute,
This time to reflect on how we might increase the store of compassion on the journey of life.
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Welcome back again.
So as life's end draws near,
What can we do to help?
The gift of touch is important,
Letting someone know they're not alone.
The gift of kind words.
We are told that hearing is the last sense which a person loses.
We are whispering words of comfort,
Thanksgiving and forgiveness.
We are inclined to be our own hardest critics.
In our last moments,
We will for certain regret the things we have done or things we have left undone.
We all need to be reminded of the good we have done.
We need to be inspired in some way to do our best.
As has been said,
We are not bad people trying to be good.
We are essentially good people trying to be better.
And in Mary's case,
We played some music gently near her ear.
It's said that the mind can only hold one thought at a time.
She was dressed,
A little agitated.
So the music of her early years brought her to a place of calm.
And among the songs,
The happy lilt of Kei Sera Sera.
And Vera Lynn singing We'll Meet Again.
I believe that the wonder of our being is not something that can be limited to the physical or snuffed out at death.
I pray that in Mary's case,
And in the case of all those who are near and dear to us,
The promise of that song will become reality for us all.
That we will somehow,
Somewhere,
Meet again.
The unspoken lesson of Mary's baby-like grip on my thumb made me reflect more on how we are all born and how after a time,
We all die.
If we could be more conscious of our vulnerability and our ultimate mortality,
We would show more compassion not only to the people we like,
But to those whom we find more difficult.
If we could recognise the vulnerability and the ultimate mortality of those with whom we might feel a sense of conflict,
We would approach them differently.
And that different approach could change us and,
Through us,
The world.
That is the lesson that Mary taught me and now you,
In silence,
In her final hours.
Namaste.
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