Before the last breath

 Before the Last Breath

Death is one of those subjects we rarely speak about openly. It sits quietly in the background of life—acknowledged, yet avoided. Recently, while reading The Collected Addresses, I came across the idea of “deathbed diaries.” These were reflections written by people who were close to death—people who, knowing their time was limited, chose to leave behind confessions, advice, or regrets.

What struck me most was the observation that many of them shared regrets.

Reading those reflections made me pause and turn the question inward.

If I were in that moment, what would I say? Would I have a confession? Advice? Regrets?

When I look at my life so far, I feel I have lived it fully in many ways. Yet, like most people, I realise there are also unspoken parts of life.

There are people we loved but never told.

Feelings we carried quietly.

Moments when hesitation spoke louder than courage.

Life events, disappointments, and betrayals slowly teach us to be careful with trust. Opening up to people, venturing out emotionally, or taking risks with relationships is not easy. And perhaps it is not natural for everyone either. Each person has a different temperament.

When I look at myself honestly, I realise something important.

My confession is simple: I am what I am.

For a long time, I have been someone who does not experiment too much with life. But now, at this stage of life, I feel something changing within me. A certain audacity has quietly entered my thinking. I realise that even if I fail, it will not create regret. In fact, not trying might create the greater regret.

So perhaps this is the time to try new things.

It is interesting how often people realise the beauty of life only when they are close to losing it. While living, we are busy—busy worrying, planning, competing, or simply surviving. We rarely pause to acknowledge that life itself is beautiful.

What happens after death remains a mystery.

Some people believe in the journey of the soul. Others talk about past-life regression and healing patterns carried across lifetimes. Around me too, I hear people discussing these ideas—about the soul travelling, about healing through understanding past lives.

Maybe there is rebirth.

Maybe there is a soul.

Maybe there is a journey beyond what we see.

And perhaps there is an Almighty—some universal power that connects us all. A force that allows us to think, to move, to live.

Throughout life we consume the earth—through the food we eat, the resources we use, the space we occupy. But in the end, the body itself returns to the earth. It becomes a part of the same soil that once nourished us, giving back nutrients and life to the world again.

In a strange way, the cycle completes itself.

While thinking about all this, I realised something simple yet profound.

Does death scare me?

Yes.

But the fear of death should not stop us from living.

Life cannot be spent constantly worrying about its end. Instead, the awareness of death should remind us that life must be lived fully.

Reading those reflections from people near death did not make life feel heavier. Instead, it made life feel more precious.

And perhaps that is the real lesson:

Life is beautiful.

The only mistake is realising it too late.