Until recently I had a delightful cat, named Hoosier, with whom I shared many lovely, snugly moments over the past 22 years. She recently became quite ill, her kidneys were failing, and the difficult, though loving decision was made to have her put quietly to sleep. I had never had a pet euthenized before, so I have no knowledge of what the experience generally is like. I do know, however, that being present with Hoosier when the time came felt very much like watching her relax into a final sleep. She had lived a wonderful life, and, I felt, she had been given a good death. During the eulogy at her grave site, I commented: Good life, Good death, Good bye! The statement was quite short, and yet somehow complete!

If we could only have this experience in our own lives! To give unconditional love, acceptance, and joy to others, to live peacefully and fully, and to end our lives without fear or regret when the time comes. I cannot think of anything better to strive for in our lives.

But how do we arrive at this goal? Here are five points to ponder in attempting to achieve what good old Hoosier the cat did so effortlessly.

1. Live each moment fully before moving on to the next one.Do not get ahead of yourself attempting to live your life faster, or try to slow life down to savor a moment whose time is up!
2. Don't ask others to live by your standards and rules unless it suits them. Do not judge them if they choose not to live as you do. We are not the final judge, we do not always know what is best for ourselves, much less for someone else, and if there is an all wise one, he, she, or it most likely has a handle on the situation!
3. Be content with what is, unless you can effectively and safely make it better. Wishing things were other than what they are is a major cause of restlessness, depression, anxiety, and frustration.
4. Be willing to feel fully, not just those emotions you feel are pleasant ones, but also those that don't feel so good. We can't have rich, full lives without being willing to feel all the emotions available to us as humans. With only half of the emotions, we get only half of a life experience!
5. Learn not to fear death. If we live in such a way that we are staying "safe", but are afraid to try difficult, scary things like living our dreams and loving unconditionally, we are not fully living. If we fear death we cannot really choose life. We are, instead, trying to figure out how to avoid death, rather than focusing on how to live passionately!

In conclusion, remember that life is brief and must be filled carefully and wisely. Slow down, tend to your relationships and your personal joy. I guarantee that when you are as old as you are going to get, and are contemplating the inevitability of death, the specter that will fill you with more dread than dying will be the thought that you had not lived, like Hoosier the cat did, as fully as you could have, and that you had not cultivated what you truly felt was important in your life!                               Article Source