Calaveritas. Gabriel Saldana. (cc) 2012.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>II.17<\/span>\u00a0A lifetime is a dot; it is flux, and our perceptions are dim and our bodies rotting. Our spirits are in whirl; we don\u2019t know what will happen next; and fame is almost arbitrary. In sum, our bodies are a stream and our spirits are dreams and vapors. Life is a battle; a wayfarer\u2019s journey; our fame is oblivion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhat can get us through? The love of wisdom. But this requires we keep our minds free from violence and attack. This requires us to be judicious in\u00a0pain and pleasure; requires us to be above lies and hypocrisy, independent of what others do or think. It requires that we accept what happens and what we have or don\u2019t have as coming from wherever it comes from\u2014the same place we come from.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFinally, it takes waiting for death cheerfully, considering death nothing more than the dissolution of the elements that all living things are made of. Because, if the elements are never damaged, changing from one thing to another, why should we human beings fear dissolving and changing? It\u2019s just what nature does, and there\u2019s nothing bad about what\u2019s natural.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Finally, it takes waiting for death cheerfully, considering death nothing more than the dissolution of the elements that all living things are made of.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1440,"featured_media":2388,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[179,443,5],"class_list":["post-2387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-death","tag-stoicism","tag-unitarian-universalism"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Calaveritas.](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturespath\/files\/2016\/09\/8163287299_df5f1c05cb_z.jpg\")
<\/a>