Welcome to the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast. Our intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich,
and inspire a simple and uncomplicated life.
Discover the benefits of mindful living with your host, Timber Hawkeye.
The intention behind these podcast episodes, my books, monthly emails, and online posts,
is to offer some food-for-thought so we can contemplate certain topics more deeply,
and perhaps discuss more openly when social etiquette considers them uncomfortable
or even taboo. This year alone, we've tackled insecurities, judgment, identity,
and forgiveness, among many other subjects, and now, as the year is coming to an end,
I figured we can talk about The End. Regardless of race, gender, religion, age,
political affiliation, or even species classification, what we all have in common
is the very thing we've been raised to never discuss or even think about: Death.
Any mention of it is often considered morbid, defined by the dictionary as an abnormal
and unhealthy interest in disturbing and unpleasant subjects. Isn't that exactly
what the Buddha's father tried to do? Shelter his young son from any mention of old age,
sickness, and death? Our culture celebrates youth and vitality by efficiently filing
the elderly and less-abled into retirement communities, practically out of sight.
How are we supposed to develop a healthy relationship with these facts of life
and death if we don't even see or talk about them on a regular basis? In what
used to be minority circles, interracial couples, for example, the rule of thumb has
always been: Visibility leads to acceptance.
The more often we encounter something, the more comfortable we become
with its existence; be it women in power, same-gender couples, or blue hair.
So, the opposite must also be true: the less often we see something, the less prepared
we are to deal with it. Even if you are one of the few people who've seen a corpse,
it was probably in a coffin wearing makeup and dressed in fine apparel.
This gives a whole new meaning to "Out of sight out of mind." If we don't see it,
we don't have to deal with it, which is wrong in this case because we do and WILL have
to deal with it. But if we're ill-prepared for death when it comes in whatever form
it chooses, either for someone else or for ourselves, then the experience can be
downright devastating when it doesn't have to be. So how is it that despite death being
all around us, we are still shocked by it the same way a lazy student is thrown off by
a pop quiz? I mean, from a very young age, life has prepared us for death's inevitability
by first taking our goldfish or dog away, for example, then our grandparents, parents,
friends, often without any warning, and sometimes very early on. Yet, people still
claim to be devastated by the loss of a loved one who was taken "unexpectedly."
How is that possible? Even if they mean the timing was unexpected, having an expectation
that someone, anyone, would live to be a certain age before they die, is proof that
we are not honest with ourselves about death's seemingly irrational timing.
Somehow in our generally overly pessimistic society, we are unreasonably optimistic about
how long everyone we know is going to live, including ourselves. I would love to see more
of us honest with ourselves and our children about the fact that anyone's last breath could
be taken at any moment. I think we would appreciate each other and life itself
a whole lot more. We would save ourselves much devastation while significantly
increasing our celebration of every living moment; don't you think? We are not
helping ourselves or anyone else by avoiding the very topic that makes us uncomfortable.
If you find value in this podcast and the work I do through the Prison Library Project,
veteran support groups, or recovery and rehab clinics, show your support
with just one dollar a month through Patreon.com/BuddhistBootCamp
It's how these podcast episodes are available without commercials for car insurance or
a mattress in a box. It's all thanks to listeners and readers just like you.
Thank you for telling your friends about this podcast, and for having more open
conversations about some of these topics with the people in your life.
The more we talk about them, the less taboo or uncomfortable they will be for future
generations. Just look at how open discussion and visibility has led to wider awareness
and acceptance of gender and sexual identity, for example, racism, women's rights,
animal cruelty, and so on. The first step to being the change we wish to see in the world
is bringing those topics into our daily conversations, instead of only discussing
them in hushed voices. So, thank you for being the change. Namaste.
Timber Hawkeye is the bestselling author of Faithfully Religionless
and Buddhist Boot Camp.
For additional information, please visit BuddhistBootCamp.com,
where you can order autographed books to support the Prison Library Project,
watch Timber's inspiring TED Talk, and join our monthly mailing list.
We hope you have enjoyed this episode,
and invite you to subscribe for more thought-provoking discussions.
Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love. 🙏🏼