The Path of Becoming

"Death is not a door that closes. Death is a door that opens. It opens, and you walk through it."
- Last Temptation of Christ

I had always believed death to be an uncommon evil. Something to be avoided. Yet try to avoid the inevitable. Even Shakespeare wrote, "A man dies a thousand times before his death." How sad, I thought. How torturous to experience so much loss in one's life.

Now I see the truth of death more clearly. Death is not an event. Death is the perpetual rhythm of our lives.

As one moment dies, another is born. We cease to be one thing, while becoming another. Death is not a moment of loss. Death is the process by which we are offered the opportunity to grow.

I try to "figure myself out". Yet the evolution of my Self continues. Every atom in my body has been replaced by another. To say I understand myself today means I have learned to accept who I was yesterday. But who am I now? And what about tomorrow?

Our human existence is not a destination. We will never "become" anything. We will forever walk the path of "becoming". We will continue to learn, to grow, to evolve. And just as we "die a thousand times before our death", we will live a thousand more lives after this life ceases to be.

07/20/2001