In the west, we see death as an enemy to be conquered, or at least held at bay as long as possible. Wakes and funerals in which friends and loved ones used to keep watch with the body have now given way to memorial services held days or weeks after the death. Perhaps we fear death because we have lost our faith in the eternal

A friend of mine has received word that her brother is dying. He is in hospice and making final arrangements, talking to his loved ones and preparing himself for that great journey. What might you want to say to those you were leaving behind? What epiphanies might you have in those last moments?

Below are some ‘last words’ recorded just before death.

Paradise –
I see flowers
From the cottage where I live. Yaitsu 

I am going to that country which I have all my life wished to see. William Blake

Light, light, the world needs more light. Goethe

I shall hear in heaven. Beethoven

There is no reality to my sickness. There is no reality to my death. Milarepa

The hour which I have long wished for is now come. St. Teresa of Avila

Let us cross the river and rest in the shade. Stonewall Jackson

Turn up the lights; I don’t want to go home in the dark. O. Henry

Now comes the mystery. Henry W. Beecher

I leave this world without regret. Henry D. Thoreau

 

And, here are some observations on death for pondering:

Alas for those who never sing but die with all their music in them. Oliver W. Holmes

When death is imminent, we open our hearts quickly and wide. Hazel B. Andre

In reality, there is no death because you are not the body. Let the body be there or not be there, your existence is always there; it is eternal. Nisargadatta

Until the day of his death, no man can be sure of his courage. Jean Anouih

Be calm. God awaits you at the door. Gabriel Garcia-Marquez

Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because dawn has come. Rabindranath Tagore

The call of death is a call of love. Death can be sweet if we answer it in the affirmative, if we accept it as one of the great eternal forms of life and transformation. Hermann Hesse

King Tety has not indeed died. He has become a glorious one in the sky; he abides in continuity. Egyptian tomb, 2500 BC