I just served as keynote speaker for
the Camarillo Hospice 30th Annual
Community Memorial Service.
It was such an honor and humbling
to be a part of this profound event.
As it usually does, the task of planning the talk
brought me my own fresh revelations.
I was asked to talk about
Life, Death, Love and Loss.
I will try to convey the gist.
This message is intended to be useful
for anyone who seeks peace in this world.
Close your eyes for a moment and
let yourself see a departed beloved in your mind.
Are they not still a living light in your life?
I am going to say that a life is a light.
And that light is undying.
Perhaps the light of a life does not die,
but bodies die, and with them sometimes
shared hopes and dreams also seem to die.
But I have had the experience of
holding a loved one in my arms
as they breathed their last breath,
and I have seen the light of
their life fill the room.
There is research now on this,
and many are seeing it.
So I am going to stand by my statement
that a life is a light, and that light is deathless.
Close your eyes for a moment and
let yourself feel a departed beloved in your heart.
Are they not still a living love in your heart?
I am going to say that love is a bond.
And that bond is undying.
No one wishes for sorrow.
But grief is a bond of love
that links us across partings.
If we cross paths with another being
and let ourselves trust them and care for them
then a bond is forged that links us
together with the beloved forever.
Over time the pain mellows and sweetens
and even losses deepen our heart and enrich our life.
So I am going to stand by my statement
that love is a bond, and that bond is deathless.
A few days ago I was driving down PCH
to LA to meet with clients.
On the way I was listening to a CD
of Napoleon Hill about
the power of prayer and the sixth sense.
He used a phrase that rang bells for me –
“the state of faith.”
I have pondered deeply about
what it means to keep faith,
and this phrase helped it finally click in for me.
Hill is addressing the scientific,
rather than religious aspect of faith,
by studying it as a condition of consciousness.
The moment I heard that phrase –
“the state of faith,”
I was clear that faith is a yogic state
of mind and heart
that brings the sense of peace.
If I can keep my mind in the light
of whatever greater power has been there for me,
and if I can hold my heart in the love
of those who count on me to be there for them,
then my mind and my heart will know peace.
Peace is a sign of our own right path.
The brighter our minds the more able we are
to fool ourselves and scare ourselves.
But there is no peace in our hearts
while we are lying to or doubting in ourselves.
We only feel the state of peace
while we are giving ourselves into the state of faith.
Just for the moment, rest your mind
in the truest light you have ever known.
Just for the moment, rest your heart
in the deepest love you have ever known.
This is the state of faith
and the sure sign of it
is the sense of peace.
I know that this is hard to believe
considering all the bereavements, divorces
and the kids moving away,
but there is a way to prove
the enduring reality of light and love –
Whatever is happening
there is always a greater purpose
to be served in the moment.
Whatever is happening
there is never a lack of others
who need the help we can give.
Greater purpose and helping others
are a proven path for anyone
to learn the power of
keeping faith and finding peace.