"When the Bullet Hits the Bone"
How will I respond when - not if - when I face death? "Hob", a man with a deep, longstanding spiritual practice, responded like this:
“One of the EMTs was vigorously shaking Hob’s shoulders, shouting at him.
‘Harrison, can you hear us! Can you hear us!’
I could see that he was beginning to stir ever so slightly. Something about the faint movements in his face suggested that he was straining toward speech. Then I heard him say, ‘Will you guys keep it down. I’m trying to die here.’
The EMTs glanced at each other in astonishment. There was a pause, then the head man resumed his beseeching. ‘Harrison, are you in pain? Are you in pain?’
I could see Hob was trying to gather himself again, as if hauling himself up from some deep, distant place, struggling to come up with more words. He opened his eyes, looked directly at the head EMT, and said, ‘Everything’s beautiful and nothing hurts.’
A quote from a Kurt Vonnegut novel. I couldn’t believe it. Literary references, even in these circumstances! … Somehow in the midst of the most perilous moments, Hob continued to respond with some unexpected, humorous twist.”
Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle. “Ten Thousand Joys & Ten Thousand Sorrows. A Couple’s Journey through Alzheimer’s.” Penguin, NY, 2008.
Such clarity requires an intentional mature practice of letting go of all of the 'lite' comforts (distractions) we tend to cling to in an immature attempt to avoid existential realities: constant change, aging, sickness & death.
