I've had a friend die recently -- the first one of my friends.  And interestingly enough, a distant family member is her death bed . . . had a client whose mother had just died . . . and received an email from one of the great teachers talking about aging and drying . . . so the end of this life themes have been brought to the forefront.

I have a hard time fathoming death.  I've thought about why that might be, and I think it's because it's not real/true.  In truth, we don't die, we just discard the garment of the body we've used for this earth experience.  Even the personality that's existed in this life, even as it unites with the soul and its higher self, remains intact -- it never ever disappears, dies, vanishes.  Even this small part of this life's earth personality remain forever, eternal, inviolate.

So, it's hard to think of anyone dying.

But it has brought powerfully to the forefront that this experience we have in this lifetime with these people that we meet is the ONLY time that will ever happen.  Even though the record of it is eternal, this is an once-only experience, utterly unique and can never be duplicated.

Makes me think, all over again, of the kind of experiences I want to have with people.  Only when someone dies do we feel it's all been too short.  My response to my friend's death was:  Really?  This is it?  That's all we got?

Certainly puts emphasis on what appear to be inconsequential interactions.  They may be the only ones we will ever have.

As always in these sorts of considerations, it's pretty clear what a waste it is to be unhappy here, to complain, to find fault . . . not to appreciate, not to be grateful.  Because, yeah, it all ends pretty quickly.  I don't think anyone wants to die wishing they've just appreciated life a little more, felt more of the joy and the magnificence.

I know that micro-financing  as a way to help out people in poor countries, has existed for a long time, but I've not known about it.  Just discovered two great places:  Kiva and Mix Market.

This is something that's constantly on my mind:  It's impossible to create peace in the world unless we have peace in ourselves, peace in our families, peace at work, peace with all those we encounter during our day.

We have to express the peace we want to see in the world.

If we have anger against ourselves, anger against our families, anger against those with whom we work, anger against those with whom we're in daily contact, we are spreading the "war" we say we do not want.

The minute we commit to having peace within our own being, within our family, at work, with those we're in contact with daily, we DO something about war.  We take action and create the peace that we seek in the world.  

The energy of peace has to exist in us before peace can exist outside in the world.

When enough people want peace and create peace first within their own being, there will be peace outside in the world.

Photo by Vera Kratochvil