[aageneral] Not-So-Grim Reaper

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__________

NOT-SO-GRIM REAPER

Cyrus McCormick, who invented the reaper and founded the
company that became International Harvester, was a generous
contributor to Chicago's Presbyterian Theological School. Because of
that fact, the school later changed its name to McCormick Theological
Seminary. Faculty and students have quipped that death is never
referred to as "The Grim Reaper" at McCormick, but always as "The
International Harvester."

"Grim" is not a word which describes the experience of many people who
find themselves nearing life's end. Like Dr. Abraham Maslow commented
after a heart attack which made him realize that his own death was not
far away: "Death, and its ever-present possibility makes love,
passionate love, more possible. I wonder if we could love
passionately, if ecstasy would be possible at all, if we knew we'd
never die."

Likewise, psychiatrist Irvin Yalom, who worked with terminally ill
cancer patients, reported that "grimness" was far from their attitudes
about passing on. In Dr. Chris Thurman's book, THE TRUTHS WE MUST
BELIEVE (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), Yalom tells us that once his
patients accepted the fact that their lives were rapidly drawing to an
end, positive and exciting changes occurred:

* They felt a sense of freedom to do what they wanted to do.

* They lived in, and enjoyed, the present.

* They learned to vividly appreciate the world around them.

* They joyously anticipated holidays.

* They communicated deeper with loved ones.

* They feared less and risked more.

Because these people knew they were dying, they figured out how to
live! Nothing grim here. They came alive in ways never before
possible.

Oh, maybe you don't want to volunteer to leave this life today, but
we'll each set off on that journey soon enough. And it promises to be
an exciting adventure. But in the meantime, what if you set out to
live every moment as if your short days here were truly numbered? When
"The International Harvester" someday reaps your life, may it have
been joyful, fearless and well-lived.
__________

Steve Goodier Publisher@LifeSupportSystem.com is a professional
speaker, consultant and author of numerous books. Visit his site for
more information, or to sign up for his FREE newsletter of Life, Love
and Laughter at http://LifeSupportSystem.com.

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