On Death

I hope you never see a baby who isn’t breathing.

I hope you never watch as his tiny grey-blue body is pulled to his mother’s breasts.

I hope you never hear her groans, unable to bear her own grief, and watch as she kisses and caresses his limp body.

I hope you never hear her whisper to him, “You were supposed to be alive.”

I hope you only ever see vigorous, pink, angry babies — fighting for air.

I hope you only hear groans of joy and life.

I hope you can remember that each wail is a gift, that every breath, every beat of that little heart is a miracle that we are lucky to behold.

What I’ve learned the hard way, from working around birth for many years, is that sometimes — birth and death happen too close.

The tragic reality of life is death.

May we all have the courage to know this reality, and use it to live with all the freedom that is our birthright.

May we let the knowledge of death shock us into living vibrantly, fearlessly, completely — alive.

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I am a personal coach and co-founder of the Seattle Coaching Collective. If you are interested in learning more, drop us a love note here.