Pretend
When we were young we often engaged in ‘make believe’. In our pretend world we were astronauts and doctors, we were firefighters and detectives. We had magical devices and imagined conversations. We believed ourselves to be those people. That world disappeared as we ‘grew up’, with only a few exceptions—those of us who became poets and novelists.
What can we pretend now, now that we have grown older? The 12-step programs of recovery tell us to “Fake it ’til you make it”. This too is a form of make believe that allows for a vision of a new way of life, clean and sober. “The Law of Attraction” works on the same principle, as do vision boards and intentions and resolutions. While useful and supportive, very few of these processes actually address some of our most fundamental existential questions, the questions of the elder.
Pretend you’re about to die.
Pretend you have no fear.
Now go about your day.
~~Pir Elias Amidon
Pir Elias addresses our core, the basic human condition. We all have fear. It is a deeply-rooted protective mechanism for survival. And we all know we could die in the next moment. That too is an underlying thread of terror, whether we acknowledge it or not. After acknowledging our basic human-ness, he tells us to live, and to live fully.
With awareness that we are about to die, everything we see, hear, taste and smell becomes more vivid. Each action has more meaning. Without acting on fear we act from our heart. We do the next right thing. And even if we do the next wrong thing, we know we can make amends.
What would be the next thing you would do, pretending you had no fear, knowing you are about to die? How would you “go about your day”?
This road lives decades.
Long enough to grow wisdom.
Go well, oh elders.
~~felice rhiannon