“Death is creeping closer than usual right now. It is filling our minds, our ears and our screens. Many people are passing, Ebola fear is raging, systems and structures are crumbling. If you have felt depressed, heavy, confused or irritated, it is a natural response. This is our great underwater passing, this is the plunge into the dark sea. We will be born again from these sacred waters, but first we must face our fears. Loss, change, endings — these are all forms of death, and they all do one clear thing: they remind us that we are not in control. This terrifies us, doesn’t it? To think that there are forces greater than us over which we have no power? This is why close proximity to death brings up so much from the subconscious. It is happening now. It is calling out our shadows. You would do well to sit quietly and listen. Be with your feelings. Don’t deny them and don’t run from them. Do not label yourself as broken or wrong. Just be present to what is happening. In our avoidance of death, we have lost an important part of life. We have lost an intimate understanding of our natural selves. The death cycle will take you closer to your wild parts, the ancient ones, the parts that know death well. And they will tell you more about yourself than any book or master. What else but death can make you so fiercely aware of what truly matters? Let it shake you from your slumber. Let it remind you that you are part of a great and grand design, something much, much bigger than you alone. Let it teach you gratitude. Let it teach you love. Let it press deeply into your heart the blessing of each breath, each embrace, each moment we are here. It is this that death does best: It breathes life into the living.” ~Jessica Hesser