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Realizing You Might Be One of the Ones Who Dies
Young, healthy, and still conscious of what might happen.
What is the fear of death, really?
Taqwa is a word that uniquely describes the acceptance of the possibility of death, and allows for the surrender to the act of living fully in the present. It is an embrace of the fear of death that allows you to make choices while you’re still alive.
When I was younger I had a black motorcycle. It was a powerful little 1200cc Harley Nightster. I named her Taqwa.
Taqwa is a word with multiple definitions and shades of meaning. In my gringo understanding of the concept taken from Islamic theology, I simplified its meaning to be “God Consciousness.” This seemed an appropriate name for my lovely machine on which death was always right around the corner.
When the wheel actually almost fell off
One evening riding out of south Austin and back towards the little town of Lockhart TX on Hwy 71 East, I experienced something that gave deep meaning to this name.
