Having so casually mentioned mindfulness in the previous post, it occurs to me it is a concept deserving of fuller attention. A serious discussion of mindfulness is beyond the scope of a simple post, but I believe there is a lot of value in acquiring the habits of mindfulness even if one does not become a complete devotee of it. To that end I’d like to describe a simple daily ritual we can each undertake in our efforts at assimilating the lessons of the second half of life.
One of the core central practices of mindfulness in Buddhism is to affirm and meditate upon “The Five Subjects for Daily Recollection” on a daily basis. These affirmations are believed to be essential for living ethically and consciously at any age. The Five Recollections, as they are also known, are:
I am of the nature to age. I will grow old.
I am of the nature to be sick. I will grow ill.
I am of the nature to die. Someday I will die.
All that is mine will be separated from me.
Whatever I do, for good or evil, I will be heir to.
Lenore Flynn wrote beautifully on mindful aging in this article. Disease and dying are often treated as such taboos in our culture, and yet Buddhism reminds us these forms of suffering are the essential nature of existence.
For me, contemplation of death and dying was anathema in my early youth, but as I have become increasingly more adept at discovering the joy in existence I have correspondingly been able to accept its pain, its inevitable losses, its ultimate cessation. I like believing my task is thus two-fold: to stay centered on what is good and joyful about existence, and to remember how utterly transitory it is.
It was Plato who summed up his life’s work with the counsel, “Practice dying.” It is a fine balance to keep an awareness of death in the midst of loving life; the Five Recollections serve as one of the most consoling ways I know of to do so.