EXERCISE 3 — SAYING YOUR LAST GOODBYE

Whether it is dealt with directly or indirectly, dying involves saying goodbye to the people we love. While we can think about saying goodbye, it gives us only an abstract awareness of how we might actually feel to leave those people we care most about. A much deeper level of awareness can be reached by actually verbalizing our goodbyes, as we search for the words, voice tone and tempo that would capture the depth of feeling associated with that experience.

Procedures

1. Close your eyes and imaging which five people you would want most to say goodbye to if they knew they would soon be taking a trip that would take them away for a lifetime.
2. Then write down the names of each of the five people.
3. Now spend a few minutes thinking about the first person on your list. See if you can make a very vivid picture of this person’s face in your mind’s eye. Allow yourself to remember in rich detail some of the different experiences you’ve shared with this person. As you remember different experiences, pick one in particular that stands out in your memory. Take a close look at this memory. As you look closely, ask yourself: "What have I learned about living from this person." Take a few minutes to ponder this question and then write down your answer. Then proceed to the next person on your list and go through the same steps until you have a statement of what you’ve learned about living from each of the five persons on your list.