This would be my last wish... 

 If I Should Die Before I Ascend: Letter For A Funeral

Instructions:

Each attendee is to receive a letter upon entering venue. If you are not the original recipient of this letter, read the letter and follow its instructions.

Setting:

A concert or some other crowded event where happiness abounds.

To My Family:

In lieu of spending money for a service buy tickets for anyone who plans to attend celebration. If the event is free, save your money. Who needs to spend a few thousand dollars to bury or burn a box. I am already where I was going!

A Native American Prayer

Creator hear us, for we are your children.

Father we thank you for all that you have given us.

We thank you for the lessons you have taught us and

for the life that you have allowed us to lead.

We thank you Mother Earth for your beauty and sustenance.

We thank the masters of this universe

for their guidance, protection and healing.

Father we thank you for the white light that surrounds us, and for

that same white light which transmutes all negativity

into love and healing.

We thank you father, for the healing of our souls,

the healing of the Earth and for the healing of all mankind.

We call upon the power of the universe, to

allow us happiness, prosperity, healing and love.

We call upon the power of the universe for

good relationship to all things.

We call upon the power of the universe, for sacred direction,

sacred protection, sacred correction and sacred connection.

We call upon the power of the universe for magic and miracles.

We honor you Creator, as we honor all things seen and unseen.

We honor you Creator, as we honor our ancestors,

as we honor ourselves.

AHO

Hi! It's me. Thank you for joining me in this celebration. I wanted to share one last experience with you while your grief is still so fresh. It seems that people really tend to respond to last wishes (guilt is a bitch). Most people just don't understand the reality of death and that it really is just an illusion of space and time. So many cling to physicality that the phrase, "Life is too short," will work for now.

First, I wanted to let you know how you've touched my life. It was truly enriched by your presence. Even if I barely knew you and you barely knew me. Even if we only smiled and nodded every once in a while in passing. Even if I never knew you at all. Your story touched me. Your strength touched me. Your trials and tribulations touched me. Your human spirit touched me every single day of my life. Even if you only came for the free event your motivation touches me. I want you to know that I love you, and that love is all that matters. I won't  ask you not to weep because your tears speak volumes. You may or may not have known me in this life, but your tears confirm that you love me too. That ache in your heart, whether gentle or throbbing, confirms my faith in your kind and gentle soul. It's funny how sometimes we don't realize the presence of love until someone passes. Sometimes we still surprise ourselves. I love surprises. Getting them and giving them. So, here is my surprise for you.

Look around you. Look at all the faces in the crowd. Now choose one person that you don't know. Don't worry. This won't be embarrassing. Love never should be. Now, just study this person. Don't stare. You don't want your ass kicked. Just notice what they look like. Notice their clothes, their skin, their sex, their hair, their size, their shape, etc... Really look at them (again without provoking an ass kicking). Now, other than the obvious things already mentioned can you name any other differences? I don't mean silly things like, "He's dancing, " or "She's pretty." I mean important things like, "She lost her mother when she was thirteen and had to raise herself," or "He joined a gang when he was a teen, turned to drugs, has been shot twice and has an anger problem," or " He just returned from Iraq where he witnessed his buddies being blown apart by bombs." Without talking to someone and directly asking them or invading their privacy we have no clue how they are different from us.

Now, look at this person again. Can you tell me how you are the same? Again, not the obvious. The important things like he or she has known love, grief, humor, happiness, sorrow, pain, pleasure, angst, grief, torment, disgust, heartache, humility, kindness, lust, accomplishment, pride, loyalty, bravery, humility, prejudice, racism, etc... The list goes on and on, but the point I am trying to make is that what makes us human connects us equally. We don't have to guess in which ways we are the same. We already know. It is in these intimate connections that we are unified as a species. We really are one.

It is believed that we manifest our own destiny. There are over six billion people on this planet. The world didn't disintegrate over night. Do you think the man whose neighbor was robbed in a home invasion last week is praying that he will be robbed this week? No. He is praying that he will not be robbed, but his fear is so great that all of what he believes to be positivity toward the situation is actually negative because the fear contained within it expands until it manifests and his home is invaded. All the time he was praying that it wouldn't happen to him he never really had the faith that it couldn't happen to him. Do you think that the woman who went missing last week (she could be anyone) really believed that something like this could ever happen to her? I can tell you, without hesitation, that she thought about it every time she was home alone. Every time she walked to her car after dark. Every time she took a trip by herself the thought crossed her mind and so she unconsciously manifested it. She never fully understood her power and worth as a woman living in a world such as ours.Can you imagine with over six billion people how much negativity manifests at any given moment? If you think about it, it truly is unimaginable, yet it is real. It is no wonder that our world and all that exists within it is starved for love. Unfortunately we don't think in terms of love. Whether consciously or unconsciously we think in terms of fear, which brings me to my last wish. I like to call it my living wish, and so I present it to you. I am confident and proud that you will honor it, and fulfill it with grace.

If there is a legacy that I would like to leave, it is this. I want to teach you how simple it is to change the world.  To fill it with love and unity and confirm to one another that love is what sustains us. You know that person you were observing a minute ago? I want you to go to them, introduce yourself and hand them this letter. Ask them to read it. If they hesitate just tell them that someone you love has passed and it was their last wish. (gets 'em every time). Thank them, give them a hug, tell them you love them, but really mean it. It is in you. You may not know it yet, but it is. Leave the letter with them and walk away. Be proud because you have just made a difference in the world. Hopefully someone else's, maybe just your own, but a difference nonetheless. It was in this period of grief that you truly realized the experience of loving and connecting with another, a stranger, through your undeniable likeness and the humanity within you. The connection of the human spirit is remarkable. Thank you and I love you. Until we meet again...

P.S. Remember, physicality is fleeting, but love lasts an eternity.