Most people die in fear and regrets but then there are few peps who are happy to move on to the next realm without any baggage.
The larger point of debate is, what defines our last breath? Is it our memories, our deeds, concern for family or the fear of the unknown?
As we grow older, we accumulate memories and experiences which are happy and regretful at the same time. There are certain memories which we push to the sub-conscious, but then they tend to keep cropping up once in a while.
Life is like the Dark Side of the Moon, we show the face mask to the world which is always shining but then the dark side is something we seldom talk about.
While we talk about reminiscing in the Aged Care sector, the question is, how does it impact an older person who does not want to remember his past or revisit the memories?
We assume that older people are always looking to talk to others and share their experiences, but then in my opinion we all have a Saucerful of Secrets which we carry with us without facing them again during our lifetime.
Coming back to the point about the last breath we take, different cultures have different versions about death and dying, the mystery is, what are the thoughts which a person has in his last breath?
There are certain relationships which cannot be forgotten or forgiven but then how do they define our dying process? Do we die without a closure or do we seek forgiveness and forgive people in our final breath?
I guess we have only two options on the death bed; to either die with regrets or seek forgiveness and forgive people for our own happiness.
Pankaj Mehrotra
