Releasing
Releasing
What it means to die before you die.
Some say it's easy to let go
when the end is near.
I don't know for certain,
but some kind of ending
is fast approaching.
My new beginning
is pointing like an arrow,
urging me into consultation
with my living elders -
into the darkness
and out through light.
Men and women
show me their scars,
and though I cannot see
my own battle wounds,
I must trust I am healing.
I now tell others about
my aching shoulders,
how I can no longer carry
the weight and responsibility
I once gladly accepted.
They laugh and nod,
pour me a drink,
then urge me to rest
while I sit back and enjoy
the relief in letting go.
Death is a release from the impressions of the senses,
and from desires that make us their puppets,
and from the vagaries of the mind,
and from the hard service of the flesh.
~ Marcus Aurelius
