16 November 2009
Death as an Adviser
Posted by Robin Easton under: Hobnobbin' with Robin .
This is Part Four of a five part series titled: Five Perspectives on Death. To read the first three parts of this series go to the links at the bottom of this article (under “Robin’s Related Links”). Now in part four we look at “Death as an Adviser”.
A Story
When I was about fourteen I had an all consuming fear of death and was certain I was going to die. I secretly kept a journal about my feelings. Was I dying? In many ways yes. I was passionately in love with Nature and yet, the greater part of my life was consumed with school, which meant being indoors all day long, sitting still for hours at a metal desk, with buzzing fluorescent lights over head, surrounded by bare walls that had little or no decoration, rooms devoid of even a single plant. All the while I was forced to listen to teachers — most of whom didn’t want to be there — drone on about dry topics that were so biased and, in the case of history and science, filled with half truths and lies, topics that couldn’t have been made any drier without crumbling to dust.
By law I was forced to spend years of my life memorizing facts, most which I never remembered or used. I was bored to the point of insanity (illness). Although I didn’t fully understand it at the time, my vibrant soul was being crushed so utterly I felt I was dying, everything slipping away to hopelessness and dark fear. In my culture we often ignore the undeniable needs of the soul. For some people meeting these needs can mean the difference between life and death.
An Opportunity
Over the next few years as I moved into my twenties — still failing to find a place within my culture — my fear of death grew larger. I had lost my way somewhere in the “system” and barely remembered who I was and what I needed. Eventually in my twenties I was diagnosed with a precancerous condition and my health was rapidly deteriorating. I was dying. Blessedly life presented me with an opportunity to live in the Australian rainforest entrenched in Nature. With nothing to lose I readily walked away from my culture, which meant school, the doctors who were treating me, TV, radio, books, magazines, consumerism, electricity, water from a faucet, religion and telephones.
However, once I arrived in the rainforest I continued to pin my fear of death on something more immediate than a precancerous condition. I worried about being killed by deadly snakes, ticks, jellyfish, sharks, sea snakes, crocodiles and more. If I was going to remain in such a wild place I not only had to be aware, but I had to face my fear of death. The challenge was that I didn’t know how to make it go away? How could I no longer worry about dying?
An Awakening
One day while hiking alone through the forest in torrential rain I finally understood. I didn’t have to magically change my thoughts to get rid of my fear of death. I had to look directly at death and use it as my impetus to live, and not merely live, but rip snortin’ live, fully live, throw out the brakes live, take all the risks live, follow all the heart impulses live, reach out and touch and hug live, tear away all the shame, shoulds and supposed to(s) live, say all the things I feared live, do all the things I dreamed live, make a fool of myself live, question every rule live, unbridle myself and run wild live, go naked in Eden and live as if my life depended on it. It did.
A Healing
Death became my ally because it was my full-on impetus to live. Embracing the reality of death made me fearless! It made me want to break every rule in the Book of Silent Rules. I would no longer remain silent. I would live like I was meant to live. I wasn’t born to be shut in a four cornered box, with stale air, artificial light and my head pumped full of useless facts. I was born for greatness! We all are. We…ALL…are.
There is brilliance to be found when we embrace death. There’s a tidal wave of energy that can lift us fully into Life…if we do not run from it. Mightn’t we live more fully if we know through and through that we’re going to die? Mightn’t some of us prioritize our lives more critically? Death does not want to drag us down into a dark hole. An awareness of Death can be our friend and daily urge us, “Wake up and LIVE! I am not here to claim you. I am here to remind you to live, to take care of yourselves, to love yourselves and each other, to rejoice in the Mystery. Wake up and live as if you have no tomorrow.”
Death urged me to focus so fully on life that death and life became one and the same, and I no longer feared death. I was too busy living. Through embracing death I was set free to fall desperately in love with life, and with time my body and spirit healed. From a place of abundant life I set about “Lifting the Lid on Age and Death”. That’s where we’ll start next week.
Love,
Robin
Robin’s Related Articles:
Through My Mother’s Eyes
When I Die I Want…
When We Don’t Speak of Death
Other Related Links:
Using Death as an Adviser – Lisa Erickson
Death as an Adviser: Working with Your Own Death – Cat Saunders, Ph.D.
This Site: © Robin Easton
Website: http://www.nakedineden.com
Blog: http://nakedineden.com/nakedinedenblog/
44 Comments so far...
Tweets that mention Naked In Eden Blog – Robin Easton » Death as an Adviser -- Topsy.com Says:
16 November 2009 at 3:08 pm.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jonathan Wells, RobinEaston. RobinEaston said: A True Story – Death as an Adviser. http://bit.ly/3YeZsJ [...]
Shirley Says:
16 November 2009 at 3:11 pm.
Wow! I’m kind of stunned. I knew there was something life treating… I’m rendered speechless.
I think as children we always fear death. I recall being a child and asking about it. It didn’t help that we had a few death in the family at the time. The questions just began with my son. It’s getting a little tough to deal with. I think we always fear the unknown.
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Larry McDowell Says:
16 November 2009 at 3:15 pm.
Robin,
It is amazing how one comes around to “embracing life” and learning to live. With me, it was, the loss of a spouse/partner through divorce which very much feels like death. My fear was to be alone which, to me, was a fate much worse than death. But, when I embrace the idea of being alone, I felt the wave of energy that you described and I felt. The funny thing is that once I did this, I didn’t feel alone; just like you felt alive by embracing death. it seems counter intuitive but true.
Amazing!
A friend of mine has a sign in her office that says “Life is not a rehearsal.” Need I say more? I don’t think so.
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Steven Aitchison Says:
16 November 2009 at 3:20 pm.
I didn’t know you were close to death at one point? You kind of brushed over that with a flick of the hand 
I am so glad you decided to live.
You have captured my feelings both as a child and as an adult. I felt the same about school and now in my forties I feel the same about ‘having to work’ for an employer. This whole ‘Death’ series has just been amazing and I am so grateful to you for writing it, it has managed to bring up a whole range of emotions. You truly are a great writer and I can’t wait for the final instalment.
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Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills Says:
16 November 2009 at 3:24 pm.
What a great post Robin. Not only is the message clear and powerful, but you filled in some important blanks about your own life. For example, I have often wondered exactly how and why you went to the Australian rainforest in the first place, and who you were prior to that experience.
Fear of death has a strangle hold on many peoples ability to live life to the full. I hope they allow your life to contribute to theirs. Thank you for such an inspiring story.
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Alex - iwalkdevon Says:
16 November 2009 at 3:31 pm.
I’ve enjoyed each post so much I almost don’t want part five to come; I don’t want the ‘end’. But that would mean I had not been paying attention, that I would be denying myself the full experience for fear of ‘the end’ of nothingness……..BUT, you have calved a deep and loving reminder in my heart that death is not the end, just another part of the cycle.
I admire your strength and I’m awed at the path you chose/accepted. I have spent way too much of my life trying to fit in and be accepted. I recently met and married an angel (OK, I am biased, but I also believe it) who highlighted how futile and harmful my actions were. I now embrace the fact that I don’t ‘fit’ in mainstream culture………and that’s brilliant, because I don’t like much of it. I do not wake up worrying about whether my ‘light diffusing make-up clinically proven to reduce the signs of ageing’ – I worry about the fact that in 40 years we may have destroyed the rainforest AND the idea of wearing designer labels and becoming a walking advert for an $39 billion industry in which the average worker earns less than $2 makes me cringe (yes, I am renowned as a party-pooper:-)
I think maybe all this mindless things are used simply to distract from the reality of death (as well as all the other uncontrollable things). But as you say, by trying to avoid it we miss out on the truly, madly, deeply beautiful, wonderful stuff.
But, I am human, sometimes I panic too. I have only just fallen in Love, it feels so good, I don’t want it to end……….and there we go: attachment, that old chesnut! So thank you for the reminder to use the reality of death as a spur to live. In fact it’s also helpful in reminding me to bite my tongue when I feel grouchy, I won’t be around those I love – in this form – forever, so I should aim to DO the right thing, rather than PROVE that I am in the right!
Love and light…. and rock on Part 5!
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Sami Haddad Says:
16 November 2009 at 4:29 pm.
This has to be the most positive outlook to the cycle of humanity.
Birth, life and lament in the most uplifting reflection.
I wish more of us had that vision; the world would be a better place.
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patricia Says:
16 November 2009 at 4:30 pm.
I was born with a cancerous tumor on my chest and have had lots of other pre- and cancerous experiences. This just means I was supposed to LIVE…out loud…no matter what other’s wanted me to do…
I am working on being the healthiest I have ever been in my past 60 years – regenerating myself into a new wholeness that is full of life and not excuses…
embracing death is vital to living well.
Nice series of posts. Thank you for sharing.
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Trish Scott Says:
16 November 2009 at 4:32 pm.
Wow! Our relationship with death/life is so unexpectedly different it is sort of blowing my mind right now. I had a near death experience at 4 years old and have always been rather impatient to get back in the arms of that all encompassing love. It made me fearless so I HAVE had a rather adventurous sort of life but with a far different tonal quality than your full throttled exuberance. Perhaps you are as Brahms and I as Mozart. Vive La Difference!
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Earth Mother – In The Raw Says:
16 November 2009 at 5:47 pm.
Wow, I have a lot of back reading to catch up on here.
What you described, Robin, as your soul being crushed, as your spirit dying, is really at epidemic proportions in our society today. And always, always is a precursor to any kind of physical illness.
Imagine the changes possible in our world if we began to acknowledge the young people in our out-dated school system whose spirits are dying, whose souls are being crushed. Imagine what might be possible if we ceased feeding them fake food devoid of all nutrients in the school cafeterias, stopped popping Ritalin in their mouths, and telling them to “Sit up straight. Open your books.” Imagine if we instead took them all outside and asked them to take their shoes off and run in the grass. Ooooooolala, imagine.
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Wilma Ham Says:
16 November 2009 at 5:49 pm.
Dear Robin.
We are the lillies in the field.
Of course you die inside when you are not fed but put inside with no light, air and loving rays to touch you.
You were no mutant who could live in that false environment.
You kept your pure essence, you remembered who you were and like a little blade of grass, you kept trying to break through the concrete.
Oh sweet Robin and you did. You were so strong to even find your home again in the forest, and there no creature will attack another one full of love.
Love cannot be attacked, love cannot die and as you say death on our shoulder will urge us on, not as an enemy but as a friend.
It is there, death is there for all of us, just as life, inviting not threatening. We have come to see most things of life as a threat, how sad is that.
Embrace life, embrace love and you embrace death.
Fear life, fear love and you fear death.
Oh Robin, you warrior, you give death the love it deserves, you give life the love it deserves.
We will soar as free as an eagle until we transform.
I meet you up there, my soaring friend.
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Bern ~ Walking in Stillness Says:
16 November 2009 at 8:21 pm.
Robin, this is brilliantly written. Your words took me with you to a place rich with feeling, love, and aliveness. When I was young, I too felt like an outcast, who was an observer and witness to insanity. There had to be a meaning or a purpose to it all. While in high school, I felt like I was a prisoner of sorts. And by the time I got to college I found my self in an existential crisis. I was gazing upon the ocean on the edge of a redwood forest above the fogline, and I just broke down. I cried and cried without knowing why. There was something in the reflection that I couldn’t grasp. It was beautiful, but I felt seperate from it. I didn’t know what was happening to me. Spirit was calling to me, but I didn’t have the language to understand its telepathy. This moment propelled me on the search and meaning of Love in all its forms. There has been so many twists and turns and refinements, but I am so happy to be where I am at. Like you, I learned that fear was a block to love and living. We each have to find the courage to say what we feel and move in the direction that calls out our name. You are an inspiration to ALL, and it feels to me, that you have direct experience in touching everything deeply, intimately, and gently.
Your series here on transcending death should be published in all of the worlds journals for all to read and to absorb. I hope those in need of your words and your personal experience find you, so that they can reflect upon where you have been, and how they too can find Love in Eden.
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Walter Says:
16 November 2009 at 8:27 pm.
I have no fear of death because God broke all the rules to keep me alive when I should be cold stone dead. Rules?? Who said the God of everything has rules? We are the ones who make the rules. Yet in our hearts we know what is good and what is evil. Ah, but do we listen to our hearts? Not as much as we should. Seek and love God with all your heart, and He will show you the way.
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uberVU - social comments Says:
16 November 2009 at 9:19 pm.
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by RobinEaston: A True Story – Death as an Adviser. http://bit.ly/3YeZsJ…
Marcel Lemieux/starflight Says:
17 November 2009 at 1:36 am.
Dear friend..what a revealing and so real touching story…i too have had experiences of death in the heart and rebirth in the soul…But first let me say to you that,s its amazing all the comments that have been coming in..what richness..what life..what awesome knowledge all have..and ironically the subject is death…quite interesting to see the thirst for life ..between the lines writings..For a long time in my life i felt like a visitor from another planet..could not find my space or home ground…and through some unreal /unexplainable energy, i have done a millions things through my travels and life experiences…but what is to be said here is that we die and are reborn many times and mostly when we learn to go…letting go is not giving up..its being open to another vision of things or events…when you lay down your sword,you open your heart…
As much as i have experience suffering and pain as much as i have been given gifts …the balance of life finds its ways..When tears of love roll down your face, you have been touch, you (are) and you are truly loved by the universe..never forget that…so what is death?….a moment of transition to another facet of life…..until the next chapter..peace…and thank you.
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Lisa (mommymystic) Says:
17 November 2009 at 11:40 am.
Robin, wonderful post, and thanks for the link. I so agree – facing and meeting our own mortality, our own death, can be freeing and powerful, not depressing. It was interesting to me, when I posted that, some people felt that kind of focus was too dark, that facing death was a kind of ‘negative thinking’, and too morbid, and even that it could attract death to us. But as you point to here, I think it is the opposite – we are expending much more energy on death when we are constantly in fear of it, and making life decisions from that fear. Thank you-
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suzen Says:
17 November 2009 at 1:13 pm.
Beautifully written, Robin! I have discovered that by embracing whatever it is I fear, it looses its power over me. Death was sure on that list!
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Julie Says:
17 November 2009 at 2:12 pm.
Robin, you are an inspiring teacher of the first order, and you must never ever stop!
Your school experience matched mine, “bored to the point of insanity,” except in my case I simply stared out the window at the grassy fields and spent my time “there”, within, while my classmates sat in their chairs listening and memorizing and participating. (Sheesh. Makes me thankful my sister is homeschooling her children!) Bern and Marcel Lemieux also spoke what I could have said: “I too felt like an outcast, who was an observer and witness to insanity” and “I felt like a visitor from another planet.”
These feelings were only ever healed when I was outdoors. So it was for you, too. Except yours was an infinitely wilder experience! The drama of your travels and the events you encountered and witnessed and lived only emphasize the very point you make in everything you share on your blog, no matter the topic. Life is to be LIVED! There is nothing to fear; only beauty, awaiting our loving hearts to acknowledge and embrace it.
Death is simply a way of passing from one state of existence to another, and it reminds us everything is part of a circle. What a beautiful gift living in human bodies truly is! And, if we accept the “circle” as true, and we celebrate THIS form of life that is part of that circle, why in the world would we be frightened of the other part of the circle? It’s just a different way of life. Embracing it is the only way to release all that restricts us from fully engaging in THIS life.
You are a marvel, a dear special wondrous marvel, because you have the voice that can illustrate this so vividly.
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Plastic Mancunian Says:
17 November 2009 at 3:50 pm.
Hi Robin,
Crikey! A while ago, I referred to you as a “brave soldier” and now I think I chose the phrase perfectly.
Your descripition of a featureless room certainly rings true for children and for those poor souls (like myself) who have to endure being stuck in a drab office day after day. However, the one good thing about my job, and the only thing that really keeps me focused on it, are the opportunities that it brings. There are times when I sit there staring at a computer screen wondering what the hell I’m doing there and yearning for an opportunity to escape. The reason I keep plugging away,though, is that, thanks to my job, I have had the chance to journey to foreign places – something I hardly need encouragement to do. OK – so its business but if I’m lucky I can immerse myself in foreign cultures, something that gives me great pleasure. Thanks to my job I’ve been to many countries; I’m off to China in March (for the second time) and really looking forward to it. I’m lucky in that respect but there are many people who probably suffer the daily grind in silence and need an explosive injection of life to make them see things differently.
I find, as I get older and, of course, closer to death, that I am actually enjoying life more. I don’t really know why to be honest. Maybe its because I am wiser, less naive and stronger. Life has thrown crazy things in my direction and with each experience I have acquired a new and better perspective.
I can honestly say, with my hand on my heart, that I don’t fear death – probably because I haven’t thought about it too much or, more likely, I haven’t had to stare the Grim Reaper in the eye. I am infatuated with life and I look forward to waking up every morning so that I can embrace it. I think that if a doctor told me I had a year to live I would probably drop everything and jump on the nearest aircraft bound for Brazil (well I hope so anyway) with doctors screaming “Come back you idiot – you need these drugs!”
Besides, I am determined to wake up in that alien zoo I told you about and I still need to find a way to stow away on a deep space probe with my mp3 player. That should keep me occupied for a while.
Seriously though, once again your post has opened up a creaky door in my mind and made the goon within consider life from a new angle. Your posts are extremley thought provoking and make a grumpy, stubborn old fool like me sit up and think.
And yes, you are definitely a brave soldier – and not just for taking on the Australian rainforest and all of its poisonous monsters.
:0)
Cheers
PM
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Robb Says:
17 November 2009 at 10:56 pm.
Kia ora Wild Sister,
Whew! I can hardly come up with words. Like the layers of sediment which make up the living part of the Earth we inhabit, this series of posts justs gets deeper and richer. Both your words and the honesty of your commenters. You reveal some of yourself in this post which makes me just sit back, smile, and understand completely. You have the “Quality of Being Genuine”, Robin, and I have met not many in my travels that possess that. I can read the words of others here and see you draw that to your place as well. This is a refuge for me.
I have never feared death. It has been around me too frequently, my friends suicide as a child, two friends whom have now committed slow suicide with drugs and booze over the last 30 years because we never got to grieve for our long lost mate, never came to grips with it, my own beautiful brother another drug casualty, and of course the natural attrition of family and friends along the way. It is the unexpected death that takes us the hardest, to really come to grips with who we are, and why we are who we are. It is why I turned to nature as well Wild Sister. It is the only place which has made any sense to me, where I can talk to those wonderful souls gone too soon, show them the Whio, shed tears on the earth, and understand the moment as well as I can by simply feeling the mountain breeze upon me. I’m just not that good out here.
Robin you rock! You bring Light to the world, to the Earth – and we all feel that. Rave on! Kia kaha!
- guess I did come up with a few words after all!
Aroha,
Robb
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Vin - NaturalBias Says:
18 November 2009 at 6:36 am.
Great story, Robin! I especially liked how you tied the rigidity of modern education into it.
Similar to your approach of living life like there’s no tomorrow, I try to live my life in a way that will provide me with a sense of as much fulfillment and satisfaction and as little regret and disappointment as possible when death finally approaches.
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Hilary Says:
18 November 2009 at 10:17 am.
Hi Robin .. you make your points thought provokingly – I wonder if I’d been born in another place I’d have been different .. I know I would .. but then again would I have the freedom some of your fellow bloggers have .. we do have one life and we should live it at all times – or we should make the absolute most of what we have now, without compromising others.
I too don’t want the series to end .. but as with all things they do come to an end and here we know when – for ourselves we don’t and when is our time? Live, Live, Live ..
Thanks – Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
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wendy Says:
18 November 2009 at 2:28 pm.
Oh I can relate to the School part of this. I hated being confined and made to be a carbon copy of everyone else. We all wore uniforms and sat in alphabetical order in desks. I was terrified to raise my hand to answer a question in case I was WRONG! Horrors! A WRONG answer. Send her to the corner. Shame shame shame. Well, I just never raised my hand .
“Wendy does not participate in class”. Gee, I wonder why??
O.K. that’s old stuff I should have (ooh, I don’t like that word “should” either) buried long ago. Or burned. But every once in a while it pops up and hits me on the head.
But now that I’m a grandma – I can be as creative as I want. And I’m enjoying it!
I can see how you’d want to grab life by the horns and Live! Live to the fullest!
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nothingprofound Says:
19 November 2009 at 7:18 am.
School had the same effect on me as a kid. Totally stifling and boring! When I was 8 I saw a grade B movie on TV called Return to Paradise about a man who visits Tahiti and is captivated by its exotic wonders. At that moment I knew my life would be devoted to freedom and happiness. The glory and expansiveness of nature would be my classroom and I would revel in its magnificence. So I started writing “Happiness” on the covers of all my notebooks and I’ve been writing it ever since.
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Nadia - Happy Lotus Says:
19 November 2009 at 8:38 am.
Hi Robin,
Beautiful post! I felt like I was with you in the rainforest. Bravo to you for getting over your fear of death.
When I was 15, I died for a minute or so and had a near death experience. As a result, I never was scared of dying again. What scares me more is not living life to the best of my ability. After my NDE, I began living life on full throttle. I became so keenly aware of time, I just wanted to make the most out of every day. So I started to do so.
In my early twenties, spirituality came into my life and that took my full throttle living to a new level. I started to combine being still and silent while trying to make the most out of my day. Through all kinds of travels, I found myself studying with monks. So I learned to sit down for hours and meditate. I would then get up and get back to living life to the fullest. My teachers would tease me for the combination of being able to be so still yet do so much.
Ironically, the ability to be still, enabled me to learn to be able to do more with greater peace. So yes, death is definitely an advisor and teacher. It is nothing to be scared of…what is more scary is not living life to your best and living your truth.
Love and hugs to you, dear one!
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Robin Easton Says:
19 November 2009 at 6:09 pm.
My dear friends,
I am having some serious computer problems and am on a friends computer as well as my old lap top, both of which are exceedingly slow. Can take minutes to load the page. But tomorrow I will try and see if I am able to respond to your BEAUTIFUL comments. I have had friends in my life (who do not comment here) but read my blog and they have told me what an amazing group of people you are. I TRULY TRULY believe I am blessed to connect in such a special and profound way with each of you.
Please bear with me. It’s been frustrating not being able to respond to these comments. Each one is a gift of soul, a gift I do not take for granted. Reading these comments fills me with massive amounts of love and a huge faith in humanity. You are leaders, healers and wise men and women who are shaping and changing the world in which you live. Do NOT doubt it for a minute. Your hearts just SHINE here. Never underestimate your power of love and greatness. It effects me deeply every single week. I am so grateful for your presence in the world.
Love,
Robin
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Chrissy Says:
20 November 2009 at 1:42 am.
Someone very dear to me has lost the will to live right now and I have a struggle with all that this invokes. A part of me is selfish and is unwilling to let them go and another part of me is afraid of how much I will miss them when they do move on. However, watching someone live who no longer wishes to is heartbreaking…..
I am afraid of dying and I hope I remain so for a long time to come….I think that if you are well enough to make each day count, then MAKE IT COUNT. You already do Robin 
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Megan "JoyGirl!" Bord Says:
20 November 2009 at 5:00 am.
I am loving this series you’ve written as a way to help us reframe death. As I read this post, I thought, “I should send this to my friend, who’s afraid of dying.” You make such a beautiful point that death isn’t a big black hole that we sink into — or at least, we don’t have to perceive it that way. It’s more of a friendly hand that nudges us forward, encouraging us to take advantage of our ability to live each moment of the days we have left blissfully.
I give you so much credit for walking away from what you knew, because deep down in your spirit you were being called to a different and greater life. One that resonated more closely with your natural vibrations. That’s incredible to me, and I’m reminded of what Evita Ochel wrote as a guest on The Jungle of Life yesterday. We must live in a way that aligns us with our greatest passions, otherwise we’re not living to our fullest capabilities.
Be well & joyful!
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Robin Easton Says:
20 November 2009 at 9:24 am.
Dear friends, I’m having computer problems as well as web host problems. I’m trying to keep my site from going down. I am on a friends computer and am unable to reply to these comments today. I have a lap top but it is sooooooo sloooooooow and takes forever just to open a page. I may be able to respond tomorrow or later today if I can go on another computer. Know that I have read EVERY single comment here and that I am thinking of you. I also will obviously be slow getting to your sites. Please forgive and thank you for bearing with me. I hope you will see this comment. Hugs to you all, Robin
[Reply]
Evita Says:
21 November 2009 at 1:39 pm.
Hi Robin
Wow, what an incredible story you had. Funny, I would have never pictured you the way you described yourself in your early years, but then again we were all very different before we got to where we are today. We all faced some “awakening” at some point that got us to be who we are today.
As for the school aspect, having been both a student at one time, and then a teacher, I really now feel so much for the kids out there. Our system is so not set up to “be” and “learn” the real values of life. The education system is quite pre-historic if you ask me. I know for one that should I ever have any kids, I am not sending them to any school, but home-schooling them.
I feel good too that for the most part I have overcome my fear of death. I used to be so clueless about it, and now I realize it is just a beautiful transformation – one of our own making so there is nothing to fear. Death is a part of life, like birth. They are both beautiful transformations. Naturally many don’t see it as such yet, but by you opening the dialogue here like this Robin – you are doing wonders for so many!
Thank you – hugs and blessings.
(P.S. Don’t worry too much about all the net problems…I know how frustrating it can be, but perhaps it is in some way giving you a much deserved break from the online world…)
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Mel Says:
22 November 2009 at 7:56 am.
Querida Robin,
It has been so long since my last visit here, and I apologize. You are always a source of inspiration and strength for me, and I thank you for that.
I can relate to what you say here, that you were dying in a way, trapped indoors. That’s what’s happening to me now. What has happened for way too long!
I made a scary decision, and in a few months I’m turning everything around. I will need your support and advice, for which I’m grateful in advance.
Take care, my dear friend, and enjoy life as you always do.
Besos,
Mel
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soulMerlin Says:
24 November 2009 at 1:47 pm.
This is a strong post Robin
“Mightn’t we live more fully if we know through and through that we’re going to die?”
YES!
Bravo my friend
xhenry
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Dorothy Stahlnecker Says:
25 November 2009 at 4:02 pm.
Robin we know your there and supporting us enjoy thanksgiving and whenever we hear from you will be great although we love computers we know they are a pain in our lives and so we endure…
Blessings and hugs..
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
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Michelle Says:
25 November 2009 at 11:20 pm.
Brilliant, insightful and important post Robin. I could say so much more, but, not yet.
Happy Thanksgiving…
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Emily Says:
27 November 2009 at 5:27 am.
Thanks, Roby, for another beautiful article! Just want you to know that I am thinking of you and that I KNOW that all these “frustrations” are on their way out. Love you loads, Em
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Miche Says:
28 November 2009 at 11:56 pm.
Hi Robin, this is so moving and you’ve again hit on a beautiful and fundamental truth. I really love everything you write, and feel such a connection to you. I also feel that when we embrace death as an inevitable reality it does provide a huge impetus to live, to really live, as you so eloquently put. And, to love. Really, really love.
When I was a young girl I feared death, too. I was afraid of dying, but more so of my family members dying. I was quite preoccupied with death. I had a habit of asking my mother if anyone in our extended family ever died of this or that, accident or fire, whatever consumed my mind at the time, because I wanted to hear that “yes”, someone did die, something did happen. In my young mind, I thought that if someone else died, maybe my family would be spared somehow… I perceived death as an inevitable statistic, one that must touch everyone, even though I was too young to really understand it. What made so consumed by it was the fact the NO ONE talked about it. No one acknowledged it. When I’d ask family members if anyone ever died, they’d say things like “Don’t talk like that”, “don’t say such things”, “don’t think like that”. No one helped me understand the role of death in life that I was so desperately searching for. It was a subject to be avoided.
Later, when I was 14, death did touch my immediately family, and that changed the course of my life forever. My brother and I were a year apart and he was killed while riding his bicycle home from across town. There is so much I could say about all that changed in me, from really understanding mortality, to suddenly seeing the meaningless of school and all the “shoulds” it seemed everyone around me was obsessed with… to also seeing just how ill-equiped my culture was to process such things… there is just too much.
But what I will say is that I deeply understand what you are saying here. I too, wish my culture could be more open to facing death, so that we may all fully live and love fully, without holding back. Life is precious. And every day is a new gift. That is something worth celebrating.
I admire your bravery for leaving everything behind and living in the rain forest. That’s the sort of thing I’ve dreamed of doing before. I’m so glad someone so beautiful has done it and returned to share her soul, her stories, her insights and her inspirations with the rest of us. Thank you so, so much! Love, Miche
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Lynda Lehmann Says:
30 November 2009 at 8:11 am.
Robin! SO powerful a post. Again, a similarity. I also, as a youngster and teenager, feared death. And when I had breast cancer six years ago, I revisited that fear head on, and it was more potent and paralyzing than ever. I literally felt the breath of the Grim Reaper on my shoulder. (I don’t know why, but it was always the RIGHT shoulder, lol…)
That’s why now, more than ever, I am so completely in love with and attached to being in nature, being at one with the universe and my own being. That’s why I relentlessly pursue and try to capture beauty with my camera, and the rhythms of my paint brush.
Your shared insights empower us to self-knowledge, as well bringing YOU closer to us, as well as to yourself. Bravo, Robin, for your courage and your dedication to your purpose!
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gene Says:
24 December 2009 at 11:43 pm.
I think I fear death now more than ever, not the actual fact of dying, but the fact of not being here any more! I have a few dreams or ‘things to do before I die’ and my fear is that I don’t want to die living life 100%.
I think at an early age I got used to dying, I lost my favourite grandmother when I was about 4, lost my first brother when I was about 5, he was still born, and I never knew him, but for some strange reason I have a connection with him, I still visit his grave now and then when I’m in the town where he was buried. Strange I know!!
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eddie Says:
30 December 2009 at 11:57 pm.
The saddest thing about the culture we live in is that it is predicated on fear, in fact fear and greed. Our value system is shaped by Madison Ave. The over arching principle to accumulate to no end but to assuage the emptiness that accumulation cannot fill. So many Latin based cultures embrace death, ‘death lives on your shoulder’ and informs your life. Although I’ve been an abject failure at managing my finances [as I am completely non-materialistic] I’ve had an unbelievably rich life… varied and rich and uniquely my own, I would not trade my many lifetimes for a mountain of gold. You have such a valuable blog and point of view and I’m usually rewarded with something vital when i visit. Robin i want to thank you for being a friend.
Thanks, also, for getting in touch with your ‘ essence’ and making the effort to share yourself and your valuable insights with us, which most assuredly require a great deal of care, thought and effort .
I’m grateful for all the deeply felt and well said comments you have left on my photoblog over the last couple of years. Because you understand your own essence you are more than capable of ‘groking’ my photos as hardly anyone else can! HappyNew Year!!!
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Robin Easton Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 7:43 am
NOTE TO ALL MY DEAR FRIENDS:
I apologize for not being able to respond to your comments as I am having to back up my entire blog and website night and day due to web host problems. Hopefully the situation will be resolved soon.
I have honestly found this very frustrating
in that I’ve not been able to respond to every comment here. They are truly magnificent. YOU are magnificent!! It would be so fun to one day do a group book. It’s something I’ve thought about lately as you share your hearts here. Your insights, feelings, love and compassion are simply off the charts.
What I find amazing about it is that all your comments are so visceral and heart based. They are filled with the gutsy wisdom of real-life living, filled with your experiences and feelings. They truly express your souls as opposed to some concept that is read in a book.
There is much concept in the world. We are often bombarded with it in books, movies, religion, gurus and so forth….but I read your comments here and I have to say that they express some of the MOST remarkable wisdom I’ve ever felt and seen….BECAUSE it has come from the heart, come from the human experience. I find that beautiful and deeply moving.
Thank you all for being part of my life.
Love,
Robin
PS Know that I am thinking of you, and again I regret that I was unable to respond to your comments here. Now I will have to wait 3 minutes to see it this comment loads. LOL!! Keeping my fingers cross.
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Bern ~ Walking in Stillness Reply:
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Hi Robin,
Interestingly, I have thought and seen the same idea in my mind too concerning writing a book or a magazine or something that brings together ideas where we in essence reunite with soul groups, and/or create new bridges to invite like minded soul groups or entities into the unfolding. A greater organism is born, and consciousness expands with deeper breaths being taken to inhale and experience the cosmos.
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Wilma Ham Reply:
November 29th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Dearest Robin.
Thanks for sharing your computer issues and how come you are silent.
You say; I read your comments here and I have to say that they express some of the MOST remarkable wisdom I’ve ever felt and seen….BECAUSE it has come from the heart, come from the human experience. I find that beautiful and deeply moving.
I have to tell you that I am sooo grateful that you pull these comments out of me. YOU with your beautiful soul and sharing, is making that possible.
I want to give you the biggest hug for that, what you are achieving here is priceless and sooo life affirming, you have no idea how it lights me up to be here and how it encourages my heart to come forward.
Lots of love to you, my wonderful Robin, Wilma
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