By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
My unwitting preparation for the heart attack started almost 50 years ago. That was when I became a vegetarian. I stopped drinking and other vices as I learned meditation. And I never looked back.
So when the doctors started telling me the things I should not eat like red meat, they were surprised I was abstaining from a lot more.
My normal life just continued going the way it was. Any adjustments were minor. The most important thing was already there, the discipline to control myself. Reduced salt and sugar intake to almost bland level? Easy! That was nothing compared to giving up meat, pizza and coffee.
I would imagine the most difficult to accept for a heart attack survivor was the prospect of death. It is too real when you are gasping for breath. In such a situation one’s only recourse is to pray. Luckily, my yoga practice equipped me to earnestly do that. Not out of fear but as an ordinary part of the day.
The yoga mantras we chant everytime are actually prayers in essence. So chant or meditate on my mantras and their deep spiritual essence I did.
What does it do to you when you are staring death in the face? Like any other misfortune in life, death once you have come to terms with it, is just another reality to accept.
For those who ever gave the matter some thought, there are only two ways one can go after breathing your last. Either you go to hell or to heaven if you are a Christian. If you are steeped in oriental beliefs your prospective destination would be in accordance with your karma. If you had ben good, you will be reborn in better circumstances. If you had been bad you will have a hellish next life, going through all sorts of sufferings. The death and rebirth process will keep going until you become almost perfect and qualified to sit on the right hand of the Father or until you become one with Him.
The commonality between the two is having to deal with past sins or facing your comeuppance. There will justice. If you sinned big, I think you will suffer big. The word commensurate will be applied.
So what is there to be afraid of. Somehow you will have to suffer for the bad things you did or be rewarded for the good ones. There is no escaping from this process.
Dying therefore is something we just have to face.
Getting a heart attack might be the time to move on and face the inevitable, having to pay for what we should be paying or reaping the rewards allotted for us. Can we run away from this? Sorry, no can do.
If there is nothing we can do, might as well face it with grace.
So where am I now after the heart attack? Sorry for my bad-wishers. I am slowly improving. Whatever happens next, I am quite ready. See you somewhere in this life or after crossing the great divide. The future is always bright.
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