Last Day of the Year, Last Day of Your Life
Today is the last day of the year.
But what if this last day of the year
is also the last day of your life?
You can hear the Angel of Death nearby,
counting down the time with you:
10, 9, 8, 7, ….
What began as a reflection of the year
now turns, with no turning back,
into a reflection of your lifetime.
You gaze into the mirror of your days:
Did you live courageously?
Did you take risks for love?
Did you take time for friends?
Did you unfold the unique gift that you brought to the world?
As the end draws closer
you ask yourself:
What have I done with this life?
Why did I dim the brilliance
of my one “wild and precious life”?
and dim its brilliance?
Why did I refuse to step into the immensity of my own soul,
choosing instead to hold myself hostage
to tiny thoughts and dark imaginations
when I could have stretched
in the endless joy of being alive?
Why did I cling so tightly to grudges and blame,
weighing down my heart,
when I could have stepped into
‘the field beyond right and wrongdoing’
Why did I sing the song of victimhood,
when I could have been
the protagonist, the hero
of my own unfolding story?
Oh, my Darling-Dear,
you see it now.
Time slipped through your fingers,
as you spent your days complaining
about boredom and lack purpose –
But now you understand –
your life would not have been in vain
“if you had stopped just one heart from breaking”
In truth, it would have meant everything
“if you had helped the fainting robin onto
its nest again.”
Oh Love,
you see this now
this truth floods you at last
and you want to go back
to have more time
to hold on to your life
to invest your heart
to deepen your presence
but the Angel of Death
stands resolute
counting down your time
with unyielding resolve:
6, 5, 4, …
Desperately, you call onto the Angel of Life:
Grant me one more chance to live!
Give me one more chance to truly live!
I implore you!
You beg, you plead, you swear
that you understand it now.
And then, miraculously,
time pauses,
the moment hangs suspended,
as if the universe itself holds its breath.
Under the grace and mercy of the Great Divine
the two Angels – Death and Life –
confer, and together they strike a deal.
Together they begin to count anew:
3,2,1.
And so,
you are granted another chance.
You may live.
You may step into the New Year.
But now you will live knowing
that Life and Death are inseparable twins,
each holding the wisdom of the other.
Seeing them both clearly
Not just life
but also death
offers you the gift
to live fully.
Will you?
May you be blessed
to have the courage to live your life
as the rare and precious gift that it is.
May you live fully.
Happy new Year!
Poems referenced:
"Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”—Mary Oliver
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field.
I’ll meet you there."
—Rumi“If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.”
—Emily Dickinson
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With all my love for a wonderful new year 💛
Rose
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