Overcoming death terror through connection

I was going through some books and found the wonderful book of Irvin D. Yalom. 'Staring at the Sun'. He is an Existential therapist who writes about aspects of life and therapy in a very approachable and human way. He wrote this book when he was 70 and in it he talks about death and death anxiety. In one chapter he quotes Sogyal Rinpoche and I thought I would like to share it with you here.

'When we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense of the fragility and preciousness of each moment, and each being, and from this can grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings.'

I would add .. ' including ourselves'.

Paradoxically, accepting and incorporating this knowing into our daily lives can lessen our fear of dying... and living.