Last Words
“Words have a longer life than deeds.”
I’d like to think my last words on earth will be profound and memorable. Words that will last throughout time and will contain the wisdom and experience of my life to share in a poetically spoken paragraph to leave for future generations as I depart this world.
The truth is, in my own experience of the deaths I’ve witnessed, there has not been any that have left me instructions for living. It’s almost as if the “soon to be departed” view this current nature of being as a mere vapor not worth mentioning. I often wonder if it’s because in their last days or at that moment of death, a glimpse of the dimension they’re entering assures them of an eternity we could never imagine that will be anything but an ending to their existence.
I recall the time one of my favorite uncles died after a long illness on a dark and rainy day and the family gathered together in his bedroom for his last moments. Suddenly the clouds immediately broke and sunshine burst right through the window where he laid in bed at the very moment of his death.
When my loving father-in-law passed in his bedroom, his favorite music played to provide a peaceful send off in his comatose state. We then played the special song he danced to on his wedding day with my mother-in-law who had already passed and after about a minute into their song, he took a deep breath as if sighing over seeing something so beautiful and died.
When my precious mother passed, she described seeing “Christ coming up over the hill” for her. On the eve of her death and unresponsive, our family stayed by her bedside all night long. Once we had all fallen asleep, she passed and on that very morning a double-rainbow appeared directly over her house as a “God-wink” to us that she was now home.
That’s why I believe our souls continue to live on after our physical death and when I hear of documented last words of those who have already crossed over. It supports my conviction with the only evidence available that we continue to exist beyond the physical world, and the light that extinguishes here on earth is only because it is no longer needed where they are going.
Many of us may not be given the luxury of leaving last words before departing this world, but those last words which have been documented give us a glimpse into the eternity they were stepping into that challenges most skeptics.
Eugene Neil, Playwright Author: “I knew it, I knew it!
Sam Kinison, comedian and former evangelist, after being mortally wounded in a car accident and while dying in his brother’s arms said: “Why now? I don’t want to die!” He then looked up right before he passed and said: “Oh...okay.”
Steve Jobs: “Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow.”
Elizabeth Barret Browning, Author: (when asked how she felt) “Beautiful”.
Mozart: “The taste of death is on my lips, I feel something that is not of this earth.”
Anton Szandor LaVey; Founder of the Church of Satan: “I’ve made a terrible mistake.”
We will all meet the same destiny and as I get older, the realization of my mortality becomes clearer and I am overwhelmed by a sense of urgency to be prepared for my last days by trying to make up for all the mistakes of my youth.
As we live day to day, we have many opportunities for “last words”. It could be a parting comment when leaving a gathering, the last word in a disagreement, the mumbling under the breath, or just saying “pleasant dreams” after a long day. The point is we never know what our last words will be. I only need to make sure I will leave comfort and inspiration to those who will be forced to deal with the loss of my existence in their lives.
