It's funny but this only recently hit me as well this last week (as an explosion rocked the porta john I was in actually) and it was quite liberating. 

The simplest, but hardest thing to do...

Aint that the truth....

(as an explosion rocked the porta john I was in actually) and it was quite liberating.

Well, you were in the right place....I mean, at least you wouldn't have needed to change your underwear.  Thinking that you might die is very liberating, actually.  I was thinking about the same thing myself last week...

 

Hard to do.. but worth it all in the end.

Amen to that.

In the light of your inspiring thought, might I add an interesting book to your list. 'Let Go and Let God' by Albert E Cliffe. As a bacheolor living at the Y.M.C.A. in 1977, I recieved a visit from a very tall woman by the name of Greta Human. She had the smile so beautiful and rosy cheeks and long wavy black hair. She literally tumbled into my room and explained to me that Jesus had shown her to bring me this beautiful book. The geniune simpliciy of the statement of letting go is profound, though I do believe to be fully alive one needs to feel the pain of loss, deeply otherwise it might be clearly admitted that on never really lived with full accountabiliity. When my Dad died, I never was allowed to see him, never told that he had even died until two weeks after the fact. Mourning is natural and shows deep respect for a life lived well. However, I would like to add the Christian Perspective. To die is not an introduction to successive rebirths, and eventually nothing, as with the nature of NIrvana. Death in final. It is the end of this physical life, and one will not be reintroduced to play out another cycle in the wheel. Death is the exit. Death can either be joy or tradgedy. Death can be swallowed up in victory for a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because He died, so that as we identify with Him in death, we are risen with Him into newness of life. In this life yes you can let go, but you will not be able to let go of death, you will only be able to echo with Paul....Oh death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory, when you have completely surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then you will most definitely be able to let go. There are resting place along the way, but the Tibetan Book of the Dead is not one of them.

To die is not an introduction to successive rebirths, and eventually nothing . . . It is the end of this physical life, and one will not be reintroduced to play out another cycle in the wheel

Aeryck, that's a hearty faith, but I think an "I believe" wouldn't go amiss before sentences like that. Many people believe in re-incarnation, and in my view it's a logical belief. (Do you think that one chance alone is a fair deal? What about handicapped people, or infants who die young?) I believe that once we're in Heaven we get opportunities to freely choose to come back down to earth, in order to experience another life with the intention of doing better than the last one. Eventually, due to the natural laws of growth, we will become enlightened, and will learn that love is the answer. (What's more, we'll see that all our so-called 'bad' lives were good, in that they served the development and learning of our souls.)

I wrote a song for a friend (he is the one I've mentioned previously as having days where he is particularly difficult to be around). The song is called 'Let It Go'. I sang it to him one evening and he picked up straight away who it was about. He said to me at the time he realised what I was trying to say but found it difficult to do. I pointed out the only difficult thing I could see was his lack of faith in his own ability to let go. My song was my way of giving him something he could hopefully use.

because the stuff of God (i.e. spirit, which is immortal and free), is Who We Really Are

'We are all made of stars'... to quote Moby. Same thing, just different words, I believe.