Death Upon My Shoulder
"Death is our eternal companion," don Juan said with a most serious air. "It is always to our left, at an arm's length. It was watching you when you were watching the white falcon; it whispered in your ear and you felt its chill, as you felt it today. It has always been watching you. It always will until the day it taps you."
[...] "How can anyone feel so important when we know that death is stalking us?" he asked.
I had the feeling my answer was not really needed. I could not have said anything anyway. A new mood had possessed me.
"The thing to do when you're impatient," he procedded, "is to turn to your left and ask advice from your death. An immense amount of pettiness is dropped if your death makes a gesture to you, or if you catch a glimpse of it, or if you just have the feeling that your companion is there watching you."
Journey to Ixtlan: the Lessons of Don Juan, by Carlos Castaneda
[Originally posted to Death Upon My Shoulder; subsequently merged into MemeMachineGo!]
Comments