It's Your Choice! (eBook)

Before we begin studying wise decisions in the area of the six dimensions, a word needs to be said about preparing for life and preparing for death. In order to tie the six dimensions together, one needs to see a global view of life, often referred to as “the big picture”. Some of us are best at seeing the forest and others at seeing the trees. Blessed indeed is he who can see both, switching back and forth as if working on two different computer screens.

If we can look at the picture of “us”, human beings, as on a long journey, one that begins with life and ends with what is often termed death, it will be easier to prepare for your own death. I prefer to call it “dropping your body” since I think the term death has, by definition, an incredibly negative and frightening connotation.

As babies and then children, we have little say in how to prepare for our own life. We may say to our parents as a young child that we'd love to be an astronomer or a doctor when we grow up, but how many of us have parents that say, “That's great Fred, we'll sign you up for medical college as soon as you turn twelve, and in the meantime, we'll buy as many medical books as we can to help you get started”? A few are blessed to have parents like that, but it's the exception, not the rule. Rather, most of us either don't take the steps to head in a certain direction as soon as we get out of high school, or maybe still have no idea what we want to be when we grow up. Often we just fall in to our “chosen” profession and at the age of 50 say, “I always wanted to be an astronomer”. In a perfect world, all parents would pay attention to their children as they grow up and notice where their interests lie, then foster that dream as much as possible so that it can be a reality.

When my husband Tom was eight years old, he wanted to be a cartoonist. He had a natural talent for drawing as well as a marvelous and unique sense of humor. He took the initiative to write a letter to Walt Disney Productions to ask them how to make that happen. They sent him a Walt Disney postcard and a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea movie poster along with an encouraging letter, suggesting he attend art school and develop a portfolio. What a wonderful start for his dream. His parents told him that drawing was a waste of time and discouraged his dream. Years later, he had an Aunt Opal who was sixty when she began painting. Much was made in the family of her talent and why hadn't she started when she was younger.

These were bitter words for Tom to hear as he remembered his own, fallen by the wayside, childhood dream. When he became an adult, he fell into a job working as a lineman for Southwestern Bell; then went on to be a communications technician. While he mostly enjoyed his job, he never forgot the vision of an eight-year-old child. Over the years, he continued to dream of being a cartoonist even going so far as to purchase a drafting table and various brushes and pencils for the craft. He frequently doodled and drew cartoons that he shared with his co-workers; one in particular came back to him on the Internet twenty-five years later as being the focal point of a Drew Carey episode, with no credit, of course, to Tom.

His drafting table, which previously had gathered dust in our studio, came alive when he illustrated my book REPAIR For Kids. He is currently getting ready to illustrate REPAIR For Toddlers. Now that he's retired, he can finally pursue his childhood dream. Does this story sound familiar? Were dreams developing in your child's mind that never came to fruition? Is it really too late?

As I previously cited in the example of Grandma Moses, who didn't begin painting till her seventies, it's never too late to pursue your childhood dreams. Start preparing for your life. Are you happy doing what you're doing for a living? For that matter, are you happy with what you do in your spare time? If the answer is no and you're not sure what you'd like to be doing instead, begin making lists of where your interests lie. Then make lists of what you'd need to do to get there.

When I was very young, I knew I wanted to be a writer. My friends in Nebraska tell me that when I was in my teens, I was writing a novel (no idea what happened to it) and had already written dozens of poems. I read voraciously, always studying the various styles of writing, and thinking about what I could do with words. I was never encouraged in that area even though writing, spelling, and literature were subjects I excelled in. It wasn't until I turned forty that I actually sat down and wrote a serious novel, a mystery called When First You Practice to Deceive. Even then, I didn't think about selling it. I only knew that I had words inside of me that I wanted to put into prose or poetry. I have now written twelve books, four of which I've sold, and five volumes of poetry. I have three more that I am currently working on. I can't not write. The good news is that I will not have to die without having followed my natural bent.

Much like a tree with limbs that want to grow a certain way, humans too want to grow a certain way. To force that limb by binding it with wire to grow in a way other than it's intended is cruel. A person with creativity buried inside of them screaming to surface, but who works an unrewarding job as a supermarket clerk, is not going to enjoy his day. The yearning of a dream trapped within his body will be buried forever in a locked room in his mind.

Nothing is more important than freedom; freedom of thought, freedom to choose your own spiritual path, freedom to make all of your own choices and, especially, freedom of the spirit. The human spirit needs to soar, like a bird, to its highest potential, stretch its limbs to grow as far as they want, experience all the joy that sits and waits for them to take advantage of it. Start preparing your own life, no matter how old you are.

Now let's go to the other side of the coin, death. The study of philosophy has often been termed the study of the preparation for death. There is more truth to that than appears at first glance. We spend all of our life preparing to live it only to find out at the end that we didn't prepare well and now we must prepare for death. While these may sound like sad words, they don't need to be.

Preparing for death is another one of those realities that, until we begin to approach it, we see only as a perception. When we are younger, death is something that happens to sick and old people; but surely by the time our years have advanced, we will find a way to escape it. We don't actually tell ourselves this, but we live our lives as if it were true. But it is not. Death is the strongest reality there is.

How then does one prepare for it? Better yet, why should we? It'll happen soon enough; best not to encourage any thought in that direction. And yet, as we look down the road, there are going to be regrets, anger, disappointment, panic and probably fear. But what if you could change that by starting now? I believe that when death comes, if we have lived our life as fully and richly as we always wanted, if we have experienced all we want to, and if we have made bold moves, then we will not mind the going so much. And if we add to that list a strong belief in the hereafter, a strong spiritual center, it will be even less fearful. If we take care of our health, in all areas of the six dimensions, we can prolong both the number and the quality of the years we have in this body. This will give us the opportunity to fulfill all the promises of life.

When I was a young girl, I had an Aunt Mame. At the age of sixty-five, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She was very angry. Even at my young age, I knew why she was angry. She wasn't angry because she was going to die. She was angry because she had never lived. This woman had never married; never had a child nor a boyfriend; never traveled outside of the county she lived in; and still dwelled in the same house in which she was born, her parent's home. I found it one of the saddest stories I'd ever heard.

A well-known actor from the 1950s, George Sanders, committed suicide at the end of many years of a successful career. He left a note that contained only two words, “I'm bored.” I found that one of the saddest commentaries on a human's life. Here was an individual who had fame and fortune, things that most people would love to have achieved. He had the opportunity to experience everything he could have ever wanted, and apparently did. And yet, there was something missing from his makeup. And that something caused him to be remembered more for a suicide note than for his achievements.

We all experience moments of disappointment and restlessness. But the world contains endless sources of stimulation. If I lived to 500 years, I doubt if I could ever experience everything I want to. There is always good food —you can't possibly eat everything there is—more books, more movies, more friends, more places to travel to, and a thousand and one experiences waiting for you. Unless you genuinely don't want it, there is no excuse for not living a rewarding life filled with endless riches.

I have an adopted mother whom I love very much. Her name is Lela. She was my mother's best friend and after my mother died, she stepped in to be my new...