{"id":3387,"date":"2017-06-20T07:28:06","date_gmt":"2017-06-20T13:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturespath\/?p=3387"},"modified":"2017-06-20T07:28:06","modified_gmt":"2017-06-20T13:28:06","slug":"marcus-aurelius-advice-dying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcus Aurelius: Advice About Dying"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Death,<\/a>
Death, photo by Barry Price (cc) 2005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

No one is so lucky that there won\u2019t be someone near the deathbed saying, \u201cIt\u2019s about time!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say the dying person has lived a wise and good life. Someone will be thinking, \u201cAt last we\u2019re done with that prude! No, he wasn\u2019t cruel, but I could tell he was always judging me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That sort of thing is what is said about the wise and the good. But what about you and me? <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s decide to be content while we are dying. Let\u2019s think: \u201cOK, I\u2019m out of here!\u201d After all, even those we have helped along the way will be glad enough we\u2019re gone and will be thinking that they are gaining one thing or another. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why should we want to stay around any longer?<\/span><\/p>\n

But for all that, don\u2019t die ill-disposed toward anyone. Keep your composure. Remain the giving and mild person who have always tried to be. Die not as if death is an act of violence but rather die quietly, letting your consciousness slip away. It\u2019s all natural, after all. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t act as if you\u2019re being dragged out. Say goodbye to your life as you say goodbye to your family when you go on a trip. It\u2019s all natural. <\/span><\/p>\n

(X.36)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s decide to be content while we are dying. Let\u2019s think: \u201cOK, I\u2019m out of here!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1440,"featured_media":3388,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[179,443],"class_list":["post-3387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-death","tag-stoicism"],"yoast_head":"\nMarcus Aurelius: Advice About Dying<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Let\u2019s decide to be content while we are dying. Let\u2019s think: \u201cOK, I\u2019m out of here!\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marcus Aurelius: Advice About Dying\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Let\u2019s decide to be content while we are dying. Let\u2019s think: \u201cOK, I\u2019m out of here!\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nature's Sacred Journey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-20T13:28:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/857\/2017\/06\/73282616_9e4e9f1be2_o.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"357\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Breeden\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Breeden\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/\",\"name\":\"Marcus Aurelius: Advice About Dying\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-20T13:28:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-06-20T13:28:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/b300adc411d9be68fce36f08dde96008\"},\"description\":\"Let\u2019s decide to be content while we are dying. Let\u2019s think: \u201cOK, I\u2019m out of here!\u201d\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Marcus Aurelius: Advice About Dying\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/\",\"name\":\"Nature's Sacred Journey\",\"description\":\"Celebrating UU-Paganism and Earth-Centered Experience\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/b300adc411d9be68fce36f08dde96008\",\"name\":\"David Breeden\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3c7770bbe5a6dbfa229ef59c1ff2cab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3c7770bbe5a6dbfa229ef59c1ff2cab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Breeden\"},\"description\":\"The Rev. Dr. David Breeden is Senior Minister at First Unitarian Society in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He became a minister after a career as a university professor, teaching creative writing and literature. He has written several books on theological topics and translates the writings of philosophers of classical antiquity. More information is available at www.wayofoneness.com.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.wayofoneness.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/author\/davidbreeden\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Marcus Aurelius: Advice About Dying","description":"Let\u2019s decide to be content while we are dying. Let\u2019s think: \u201cOK, I\u2019m out of here!\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Marcus Aurelius: Advice About Dying","og_description":"Let\u2019s decide to be content while we are dying. Let\u2019s think: \u201cOK, I\u2019m out of here!\u201d","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/","og_site_name":"Nature's Sacred Journey","article_published_time":"2017-06-20T13:28:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":357,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/857\/2017\/06\/73282616_9e4e9f1be2_o.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"David Breeden","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Breeden","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/","name":"Marcus Aurelius: Advice About Dying","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-06-20T13:28:06+00:00","dateModified":"2017-06-20T13:28:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/b300adc411d9be68fce36f08dde96008"},"description":"Let\u2019s decide to be content while we are dying. Let\u2019s think: \u201cOK, I\u2019m out of here!\u201d","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/2017\/06\/marcus-aurelius-advice-dying\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Marcus Aurelius: Advice About Dying"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/","name":"Nature's Sacred Journey","description":"Celebrating UU-Paganism and Earth-Centered Experience","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/b300adc411d9be68fce36f08dde96008","name":"David Breeden","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3c7770bbe5a6dbfa229ef59c1ff2cab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3c7770bbe5a6dbfa229ef59c1ff2cab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"David Breeden"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. David Breeden is Senior Minister at First Unitarian Society in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He became a minister after a career as a university professor, teaching creative writing and literature. He has written several books on theological topics and translates the writings of philosophers of classical antiquity. More information is available at www.wayofoneness.com.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.wayofoneness.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/author\/davidbreeden\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1440"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/naturessacredjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}