Day Before I Die

            Day Before I Die 

Glen Miranker has amassed about 

7,000 items in his all-encompassing Sherlock 

Holmes collection. When asked when

he would stop collecting, his response was,

 “The day before I die.” This got me to wondering 

what I would want to keep doing ‘the day before I die.’ 

I am not interested in performing sleight of hand magic 

or death-defying escape, so amassing a collection 

of Houdini memorabilia is out of the question.

I long ago gave up philately 

as my adolescent fascination ran smack dab into

financial reality when my stamp album, 

filled with beautiful stamps-a few over 

a hundred years old- was deemed 

to be worth no more than one-hundred dollars. 

The same sad fate took out my interest 

in numismatics, as the coins- yes, even 

those way cool buffalo nickels- 

had achieved after many years, 

not much more than face value. 

What then do I want to keep on doing

‘the day before I die’? I can think 

of nothing of more import,

than simply being gratefully 

aware of each breath given 

and taken, of ever more deeply 

becoming the witness to my own divinity, 

as well as yours too. Let that last day 

‘before I die,’ be spent not in the satisfaction 

of having added one more material thing

 to my collection, but rather in the sanctity 

and sanctuary of pure awareness. This 

alone will be enough.

©Paul Goldman April 10, 2022

[photo by aruba2000]