The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. 🕊🌅

Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@cant89

Many of us don’t want to face our own, or our loved ones’, mortality. It can be a very scary and difficult reality to deal with. In the last stages of life, people look back on their lives with great memories, but also with regrets - some painstakingly so. Many times our fears of not knowing what to do, or being punished, or ridiculed, or catering to ego, creates our disconnect with our true self, and we fail to recognize what we need to fully ascend. 

Bronnie Ware, a caregiver in palliative care, shared the wisdom she received from her dying patients in her book “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing.” I’ve known of this book over the years, and find it interesting that these regrets are universal. This blog will recap and share what we can we take away to live our best lives, before it is too late.

“I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.” 

This is probably one of the most difficult, and worthy, lessons to take to heart. Many of us live our lives according to what other people will think of us, and we miss many opportunities for our own growth and joy. Living in our Spiritual Sovereignty (click here to read my full blog on this topic) keeps us present in our everyday existence, and allows us to be true to ourselves and our own unique spiritual journey.

“I wish I hadn't worked so hard.” 

Working hard and succeeding can be very fulfilling, but a balance between our professional and personal lives helps us enjoy what we have acquired. Unfortunately, once a life moment is missed, it cannot be retrieved. As life events come and go (and go by more quickly as we get on in our years), knowing when to tap the breaks on our office time, and be fully present in our personal lives, makes a huge difference in ourselves and our loved ones.  

“I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.” 

Often we are trained not to express our feelings because it can be uncomfortable to those around us. The feelings within us are there for a reason. They give us guidance when they are listened to so we can respond accordingly. If you would like to read my blog on The Five Natural Emotions Not to Suppress, and how they serve us, click here.

“I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.” 

Connecting with people and staying connected, brings joy and comfort. Having relationships with people who know you and your history makes life more meaningful. “One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” - Lucius Annaeus Seneca. So true ❤️

“I wish I had let myself be happier.” 

Focusing on the negative, and beating ourselves up for our mistakes, is self sabotage. Life brings us challenges so we can grow. Our journey can be fleeting and uncertain, and it can also be wonderful. Allowing ourselves to be in the present, and aware of what is going on around us, (and the opportunities all around us for growth as well as joy) gives our lives meaning. 

Can you relate to the above? What can you change now before it is too late? 

 

If you would like to see more, please subscribe to my blog by sending an email to HolisticSpiritualLiving@yahoo.com. 

Follow me on Instagram for daily posts and subscribe to my YouTube channel (my links are on the side bar).

 

The Freedom of Living With Less. 🕊💫

 📸 image by https://unsplash.com/@harpersunday

Minimalism is not just a design concept of living in a sparse, mostly white, sterile looking room. Living a Minimalistic Lifestyle is a concept of being realistic about what we need, what is going to add value to our life, and what we truly value. Having lots and lots of stuff is overwhelming, distracting and expensive. When I worked as an organizer, I met clients who had many items (often very expensive ones) that they had lost interest in, or had no use for, and they felt overwhelmed trying to keep track of it all. Looking at closets full of stuff and knowing the amount of money we have wasted by not using these things, brings regret and shame - and it suffocates our spirit.

But we can’t just blame ourselves. In the consumerist society in which we live, we are urged and constantly bombarded to buy things - things that we may or may not need, may or may not have use for, probably don’t have room for, but look interesting enough to click, “add to cart” and order. On accounts where we are members, we don’t even have to punch in our credit card, as they already have it. Based on our shopping and browsing history, suggestions of things will pop up in our feed (as well as other websites that are tracking our history). And with all that convenience comes the added feature of everything being delivered to our doorstep in 24 hours. Multiple studies show that when people receive things that they bought, but do not like or need, very few return the items because of the hassle. 

By buying less, owning less and living with less, we can give our full attention and appreciation to what we do have and love, and we can give special care to those special items. With this, comes the ability to focus, and be more grateful. Things that are stuffed in corners, closets, or rooms locked up for no one to see, are mind numbing. When we have lots and lots of stuff, it’s hard to manage, hard to find things and hard to give special interest to anything.

Some people love having things in their space that bring back memories of their life experiences, but I suggest trying to eliminate at least 5 things that either no longer bring you joy, subject you to negative feelings, remind you of things you have wasted money on, or items that simply do not serve you. Once you do that, try 5 more. This can turn into a habit of being mindful of your space and lifestyle, so much so that while passing a bookshelf, you may see a book that you know you will never read again, and without hesitation, you grab it off the shelf and donate it. 

There is also the financial aspect. Things cost money to buy, repair and maintain. We waste money when we purchase things that we already own, but can’t keep track of.

Living a Minimalistic Lifestyle is living with intention. In spiritual terms, intention is the energy of us telling the universe what we want. The universe will help us, if we give it the direction. What do we intentionally want and need? What matters? Not only will your life feel more free with more intentional living, but having less will free up your mind to focus on things that truly matter to you. 

Ask yourself this big question: “How much is enough?” We have nothing to prove, nothing to show, and we need nothing needed to give us a sense of worth, because we are already enough without our stuff. 

 

If you would like to see more, please subscribe to my blog by sending an email to HolisticSpiritualLiving@yahoo.com. 

Follow me on Instagram for daily posts and subscribe to my YouTube channel (my links are on the side bar).