On The Path with Kissiah Young

I am thinking about the Los Angeles fires and the many people whose lives have been completely undone, and am reminded of this nine-part series on the inevitability of death, and the nature of impermanence in general. 

There are many causes of death. 

So often we live each day going about almost in the blind not realizing how shifts happen in an instant. Then something brings us to the vivid picture of devastation. 

We pause. 

Perhaps we pause long enough to reflect rather than run, and to sit with the angst that we, too, will be released into the ether of no more. One day. 

Thank you for your presence, and your willingness to enter into this space with me. 

Deep Gratitude,

~Kissiah

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Where are you in this moment now? Have you given thought to how much of a gift it is? So often we wake and move through life as if the moments thereof are guaranteed. We seem to operate on a kind of autopilot that takes for granted the reality that our lifespan is not fixed, and that death arrives spontaneously.

Join me today as we look more closely at the moments of our lives and how those moments are not guaranteed. Perhaps as we integrate the truth of the inevitability of death, we can allow it to shape the moments of our lives in a way that reveals our gratitude and awe.

Thank you for being here with me. I appreciate you. 

Deep bow,

Kissiah

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Death is inevitable and will arrive when it arrives. It needs neither invitation nor permission to enter when it knocks. Death has access to our lives whether we desire it or not, are prepared or not, and it requires nothing of us in order to reveal itself. The reality of this brings us to the question, what does it mean to prepare for death? 

Death will indeed come, whether or not we are prepared. 
Holding this thought in mind, I enter fully into the body of life. 
-Atisha Dipamkara

Thank you for joining me.

Deep bow,

~Kissiah

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In her poem, The Summer Day, poet, Mary Oliver, asks  "Tell me, what is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Have you ever asked yourself a similar question, and not with the intent to be "productive," but rather from a place of knowing your lifespan is ever decreasing (mine, too)? Our time here is finite. Are we truly aware of this? Have we paused long enough to sit with the reality that each breath leads us closer to the end of our lifespan?

Join me as we sit with the second of Atisha Dipamkara's Nine Contemplations: that our lifespan is ever decreasing. May we be brave enough to meet this truth and allow it to affect us in ways that lead to a life lived more fully, and with deeper meaning.

Thank you for being here with me.

I am grateful.

~Kissiah

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~This October, I'm revisiting a few conversations from the On the Path archives that still feel worth hearing.~

Have you ever sat and gave thought to the truth that you are going to die? Have I? Death is inevitable, so what are we doing with the reality of that? This episode explores the first of nine contemplations on death that we are gifted from scholar and monk, Atisha (also Atisa) Dipamkara: 

Death is inevitable; no one is exempt.
Holding this thought in mind, I abide in the breath.

Let us take a moment to enter in, to be with the truth of our death and find space to hold it as we hold the truth of our being alive. Thank you for your presence.

Deep bow,

~Kissiah

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Most of us are on the go quite a bit. There's some task or to-do demanding our attention. It seems normal, like what we're so accustomed to doing that we think that's how it's supposed to be. It isn't. We are often just conditioned. 

In today's episode, I share how I am allowing myself to pause. I'm taking a moment to drop in and be more present and available to myself, which also means pivoting in some areas of my life. I often talk about the pause, so it's important to me that I practice it as well. 

I'm grateful for your presence and listening ear.

~Kissiah

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We often think we have endless amounts of time. We say things like, when I retire then I'll... What comes after that are a great many dreams and desires that have been deferred. The truth is, retirement age isn't a guarantee. There are many unfortunate realities that come along the way often throwing a monkey wrench in our retirement plans. Life can be unpredictable.

What about this moment right now? How might we live our lives in the present  since it truly is all that we have? What of our future plans might we be able to access today—it is after all the truth of what we have. Even when later arises, it is called today. 

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Each and every one of us will need the help of another at some point in life. This is particularly true when faced with a health matter, a hardship, or moment of transition. So many people feel they do not have anyone who would be there, and that they would have to carry the weight of things alone. 

I want you to know that support is available. I founded Beside You to offer a kind of companionship that walks beside you when what you're carrying is too much. You do not have to go it alone. There is space to lay down what you've been holding, so that you feel a bit more held, sustained, carried.

Information is available at kissiahyoung.com. 

~Kissiah

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We hear words like fight, miracle, love, and hope and often assume we understand what someone means. But the same word can hold an entirely different meaning for the person saying it. 

Beginning with a reflection from palliative care physician, Sunita Puri, this episode explores what can happen when we stop assuming and start asking.

Thank you for listening.

~Kissiah

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We often turn away from the thoughts, feelings, and moments that are hardest to face. But avoidance doesn't always make them smaller. Sometimes it gives them more room to grow.

In this episode, I reflect on what can happen when we gently turn toward what's difficult—when we name what we're feeling, acknowledge what's here, and discover that simply facing it can begin to loosen it hold on us.

Grateful for listening ear. 

~Kissiah

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