A perfect day to die?

On a day like today with cloudless blue skies, golden rays of sunlight, symphonies of birdsong, I become convinced, as are many Indians and Native Americans, that there is indeed a spirit in everything. I came to think of the mantra "Om", which consists of four parts: A-U-M, followed by a silent vibration. In the stillness of the air this evening I felt I could sense that silent vibration which connects all to the same life force (prana).

The family down the street had quite the opposite experience. This evening they put their 12-year old dog to sleep. I watched as the father picked her up and laid her on a lawn chair cushion while waiting for the vet arrived. In her final moments in this life, she lay under the same sun I felt was vibrating with life, and she was surrounded by those who loved her unconditionally. I believe animals know intuitively when it's time for them to die, and I don't think they feel at all the same anxiety we humans feel when it comes to accepting the inevitable.

While I can't even begin to imagine the devastation our friends are feeling at this trying time, as an outsider I could see a paradoxal beauty, serenity, and dignity in her passage. The egotistical part of me couldn't help but feel that when I die, I hope it will be on a day as beautiful as this one. Something tells me that the in the afterlife, every moment is as beautiful and filled with peace as today was. In the afterlife, I believe you become that perfect day.