A letter to Death

Dear Death,

Yesterday, I was travelling in a public transport bus, and there was an elderly person sitting next to me. He must be more than 70 years old, a walking stick in his hand, wrinkled skin and his body showing all the signs of ageing. He was quiet, in deep thoughts and very slowly typing on a WhatsApp group with one finger. The font of WhatsApp was very large and all his message was typed in Capital letters. As I was trying to get out of the seat — I just had a passing glance at his WhatsApp chat, and it was something that shocked me.

The message read something like this,
”I have called all my children to visit me this month. I hope they all do. When they come, I want to discuss about my death, how they should have my death ceremony, and how they should all divide my belongings after that. I suggest it is time we all should do that.”

Apparently, it was a group chat with all his friends, and for a moment I did not know how to react.

I don’t know why I was so shocked by this conversation, but it left me with so many questions to answer.

— “Is it wrong to think like this?”
 — or “Is it wrong to talk about this so casually and openly with your friends?”
 — or “If this is all ok to talk, do we really have to wait till we are 70 to talk so casually about it?”

Since that instance, I often think about you — may be a lot at times, yet my mind cannot decipher all the answers. Sometimes it brings a silent smile on face, may be a small tear of joy — but often it takes me to an endless state of deep thoughts from which it is very difficult to come out.

I. You teach us a whole new perspective about life.

We might be trying very hard to achieve something, and then you come and change everything in a moment. Everything is temporary — we all know that, yet do not want to acknowledge that.

It makes me realize how important it is to relish the present moment that we have, and that we may not even have the very next moment.

There is no guarantee that we will have a tomorrow, yet we sacrifice our present for the same.

Whenever I think about life, I think about you. One is not existent without the other. Life is all the more valuable because we know it will end one day. It is this thought that motivates me to make my life all the more beautiful.

II. You teach us about acceptance.

However, hard we may try, this is one particular thing we have to accept.

We all have different ways to accept this — some make noise, cry, try to fight back, while there are others who just accept this silently.

III. You teach us about love.

I wonder if anyone on their deathbed would think about the money they have earned, or the lands they have conquered.

Whether it is the poorest peasant or the richest billionaire, all leave the world in the same fashion.

All that matters is how much love we have spread in our lifetime, and how many people are surrounding us in our final moments. Life might give you unequal opportunities to be rich, but it always gives you equal and ample opportunities to spread love — and that is what matters at the end.

As I contemplate my thoughts, somewhere deep inside, I have made peace with it. Death is a certainty, and something we all need to accept. Once we do that, talking about it would not make us sad. Rather, it would provide us all the more reasons as to make our life beautiful. Maybe that is the reason the old man could talk about it so freely.

We are all in the beautiful journey of life, with death as our ultimate destination. One should not be sad about reaching their destination.

And for the people who are left behind — When does life stop for anyone? Life eventually takes care of all of them.

As I close my letter to you, there is a small request I would like to make to you:

Firstly, whenever the time comes, please give me a slight sign upfront. I know it is not what you do, but life has been my biggest ally — we have been through thick and thin together. I want to bid a good farewell to life before we part ways.

And I have been making some mistakes in my life (we all humans do), I would like to amend them before I leave.

Secondly, please come to me peacefully — may be when I am watching the sunrise, or when I am quietly sleeping or when I am lost in my deep happy philosophical thoughts. Just give me a nod that my time has come, and I will gleefully tag along.

I know we shall meet — I don’ t know when, where or how — but we shall meet for sure. And I promise you, when that happens, you shall meet a monk with a smile on his face, may be a tear of joy, but with a content of lifetime.

But there is time until then, and I have a lifetime to enjoy. I would keep you in my thoughts, and as you have taught me — continue to enjoy life to the fullest and in a righteous manner.

Regards,
The Silent Monk

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