When I was 26, I almost died in a head-on collision on the highway and when I was 30, my beloved father died unexpectedly. Those two incidents that made me appreciate the fragility of life. Every living thing wants to realize its fullest potential. I feel OK clipping dead flowers from my flower bed, but when my clippers accidentally cut off a new bud, I feel pain. “I’m sorry,” I whisper under my breath.
I read an article by Charles Tart (the author of many books and considered the founder of Transpersonal Psychology) in which he admits that he sometimes (from his “ordinary self”), experiences a fear of death. I’m not sure dying is my greatest fear. My greatest fear is dying before I’ve fully flourished. Before I’ve contributed what is mine to contribute to this world. Before I’ve fully realized who I am.
In an awakened world, every living thing is fully self-expressed and bursting with beauty. Every living thing is sharing its gift.