We have heard from several visionaries. Rilke reminds us to avoid being seduced into complacency by comforting ourselves with the familiar. Frankl suggested remaining in a sustained relationship with life by being curious about what life is asking of us. Kopp invites us to let go of striving for improvement. He recommends embracing our essential goodness now, as the starting place for all growth. I decided to add my own understanding that it was in our best interests to suspend attempts to get life right and allow life to get us right.
These four views prepare us for a quote from the Spanish Poet, Amado Nervo. The last lines of his poem entitled At Peace are: “The sun shined upon my face, I loved and was loved. Life, you owe me nothing. Life, we are at peace.” Nervo’s words strongly call us to life’s generosity and to live with gratitude for all we receive. In order to be owed nothing by life, Nervo figured out along the way that his job was mostly to serve and not to be served.
If we have taken the previous quotes seriously, then we are not in waiting for life to do its job and deliver something special. Death loses its potential identity as a thief stealing life away from us. We are truly owed nothing and are able to receive death’s invitation to release ourselves from the incarnate. In our last hours, we don’t feel ripped off, but rather thankful for all we have been given.