Bodhi Be’s Surprise Quiz

By Rev. Bodhi Be

I experience myself as happy and content. (Never Sometimes Often) During the day, I take the time to stop, breathe and connect with my heart. (Never Sometimes Often) I have anxiety about what’s happening in the world. (Never Sometimes Often) I have anxiety about issues I have with my body. (Never Sometimes Often) I find myself resistant to getting older. (Never Sometimes Often)

I judge other people. (Never Sometimes Often) I think about myself. (Never Sometimes Often) I love my life. (Never Sometimes Often) I find myself on a swing between hope and fear. (Never Sometimes Often) I think of myself as lonely. (Never Sometimes Often) I think about death. (Never Sometimes Often) I have thoughts of ending my own life. (Never Sometimes Often)

Complete the following: I get sad, mad or angry about … I get disappointed about… I celebrate and rejoice that… One of my biggest regrets is… What often brings me back to my heart is (are)… What’s most important to me is/are…

What do you feel when you read this: ‘We’re gonna die, and we don’t know when. Everyone and everything we love and care about will die, and we don’t know when. The world may be dying. How and whether we use this information will shape the course of our lives, our relationships, and our attunement to the sacred. It will shape who we are as a community and how we care for each other now and when we are dying.’

I’ve asked groups of people, ‘How many of you know you’re going to die and you don’t know when?’ Everyone raises their hands and looks at me with a ‘that’s a silly question, everyone knows that’ look. I don’t think that’s true. Everyone knows that other people die, they see that. But