I have been blessed in my lifetime beyond anything that I could have imagined. Life is full of ups and downs. Some of the lows can be so painful, even worse than any potential physical pain. There are times that things can be so bleak, so painful, so bad that there just seems to be no way to recover. The appeal of death as a way of relief can be very strong. If you EVER feel that way, find a professional to talk to. I hope I can be an example of someone who has felt that way. Despite that hopeless feeling, I thankfully survived.
There is a term that is commonly known as a Near Death Experience (NDE). I would propose a different term for that. I would call it a Between Life Experience.
In the experiences that I have heard about, the ones fortunate enough to see a glimpse of the other side, then return, they did not experience near death. They died.
They were given an opportunity to have a life review and then to return. Following their life review, most, if not all, were very different people when they returned.
It is quite possible for each of us to have a life review, whether it be from what I call a Between Life Experience, or at a time when we have an experience where we are near death, when we experience Salvation or other transformative times in our life.
Have you had a Life Review? I will share part of mine from – 1989:
1989
A pivotal year, nineteen eighty-nine;
Changes, near death, new life align.
Precarious balance of triumph/despair.
Fate of which only God could declare.
January 20, Bush follows Reagan’s second term.
I begin SmithKline, a pharmaceutical firm.
January 25, Jordan scores ten thousandth in Philly
Ovation for Jordan but win for Barkley, really?
February, the first GPS satellite launched into space.
World Wide Web invented, increasing information pace.
Walking to Liberty Bell and Independence Hall at night,
Running Museum of Art steps like Rocky preparing to fight.
Thrill of a daring walk through Central Park
Past tough guys in leather jackets in the dark.
To Wollman Ice Rink only two nights since
Bon Jovi arrest for climbing over that fence.
Feeling really proud (and smart) for being the best
Having the highest class average after every test.
Trip to D. C. with the cherry blossoms blooming
But at home, there were dark clouds looming.
Pleading, begging for truth, but she lied and lied.
Then, I almost died from carbon monoxide.
I wondered, and truly could not tell,
Thought I had died and gone to hell.
June 5, China, in Tiananmen Square,
Tank Man, bravery, iconic defiant stare.
Then kidney stone pain like a hot searing knife.
But like childbirth pain, it brought new life.
From terrifying times to joyful events,
Cousins together, spending nights in tents.
After unimaginable suffering and wrongs
Inspiration, writing a play, poems and songs.
World Series broadcast, a powerful shake
Deadly, devastating San Francisco earthquake.
It was the end of the Cold War in the Fall;
November 9, tearing down the Berlin Wall.
A twist, not Oliver, of Charles Dicken’s Tale;
Tale of two lives between heaven and hell.
A year of despair, the worst of life,
A year of triumph, the best of life.
Steven A. Green