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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So often we live as though death is out there somewhere, reserved for other people. We neither see nor seize the moment to befriend the reality that we will one day die. Imagine sitting with it and giving ourselves the attention we need on the topic. Imagine turning toward the truth of death and how intimate we are with it, and seeing where the path leads us.

Join me today for a kind of entry into exploring our death, along with me sharing a glimpse of what is to come in a series on the topic.

I appreciate you, and I am grateful for your presence.

Warmly,

~Kissiah

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I am one of those authentic people in life. Anyone who truly knows me can attest to this. I believe in being true to ourselves, which often means having the ability to enter into hard or uncomfortable matters. I find authenticity to be the path of true connection and closeness. After all, how intimate can we truly be when we aren't being ourselves? 

Join me tonight as I share a bit about myself and my relationship to authenticity. It may not be the easiest of paths, but it is certainly on the path!

With gratitude,

~Kissiah

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What are you thankful for in this moment? Who resides at the tender place of your heart that perhaps this time of year brings to the surface? How is your heart right now? I find myself thinking about the patients I've recently lost, and my father who died many years ago. I can't help but hold them with tenderness and warmth and with gratitude for all that they offered me by giving me parts of themselves. 

This episode is about turning toward that for which we are thankful, and for pausing long enough to feel the fullness of our gratitude, even when our hearts may ache with grief or longing; it happens when we allow ourselves to feel.

Join me in a moment of pause where we drop into the holding of our thanksgiving.

Deep bow,

~Kissiah

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As much as this time of year brings many joy and happiness, it is also a time of deep grief, loneliness, and sadness for so many. We just never know what a person is going through. So, as we go about our days in celebration this time of year, let's be mindful that the person sitting or standing beside us may not be having that same joyous experience. They may actually need a hug, a listening ear, or even space to be with themselves and connect with their pain. I want to take a moment to acknowledge them and the grief they may carry this time of year, and hold space for their very real experience. Thank you for joining me. Always.

Deep gratitude,

~Kissiah

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Do you ever think about dying? Have you planned for when that inevitable time comes? As someone with a hospice and palliative care background, I know how difficult it is for many to even begin consider the possibility of dying. Taboo, still, the topic of death that we treat it as if a plague rather than the period at the end of our life's sentence. But what if we chose instead to meet it, to look out for it, and to create the room and space for its arrival? What if we chose to be prepared? Let's talk about it.

Thank you for joining me.

I am grateful.

~Kissiah

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We are at a time of great dismay for many. Our thoughts and feelings may be overwhelming, and so much so, that we find ourselves being pulled deeper and deeper into the dark of the injustices, disbelief, and great many disappointments. The reality of this has me thinking about where we are placing our thoughts and energy. I can't help but wonder what it is we're creating and cultivating, and not just at this time now as we meet the outcome of a very layered election, but in our day to day, that which is beyond an election. Have you paused and given thought to what you might be creating and cultivating in your life? 

Thank you for joining me once again. 

With deep gratitude.

~Kissiah

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