At The End Of Your Life

At the end of your life

You will lament

That you lamented.

 

At the end of your life

You will miss

The time that you wasted.

 

You will look upon the conflicts

The troubles

The dramas and sagas

As days of ignorance.

 

But if you are truly honest

You will realize

That it could not have been otherwise.

 

For the only reason that you now See

Is because you have reached the end of your life.

 

A life at its beginning

And at its middle

Contains little Realization.

 

For the contents of the life

The state of worldly affairs

The evolving circumstances

The promise of the future

Ensnares a man’s attention.

 

It ensnares his attention

Because he believes that there is still Time.

 

The end of his life is a far-off fantasy.

Thus, there is time to lament

And hope

And scheme

And frolic

In the river of domestic affairs.

 

At the end of your life

Domestic affairs lose their value.

 

For, in the blink of an eye

The “future” . . .

Has disappeared.

 

The Truth is

There never was a Future

All along.

 

Your Mind will now tell you

To “live in the present.”

 

This is the conditioning

That society has subject you to.

 

Bumper stickers

And slogans.

 

You could not “live in the present” if you tried.

The future is all that you know

And all that you live for.

 

Because your life is not yet

At an end.

 

In the end

Wisdom may come knocking.

 

In the end

Sincerity may be your bedfellow.

 

In the end

Honesty may sit by your side.

 

In the end

Understanding may come for a visit.

 

For then you will not be occupied

By “pressing matters.”

 

For then

Your attention will no longer be divided.

For then

Your games will have lost their charm.

 

An infinite horizon

Is an empty promise.

 

An infinite expanse

Compels one to wander.

 

If time exists . . .

It will be wasted.

 

If it does not

It will be valued.

 

You need not worry yourself now.

 

You will see this Clearly . . .

At the end of your life.

 

Namaste.