Material excerpted from the book I WILL NOT DIE AN UNLIVED LIFE © 2000 Dawna Markova, with permission from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC Newburyport, MA and San Francisco, CA www.redwheelweiser.com.

I will not die an unlived life.

I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire.

I choose to inhabit my days,

to allow my living to open me,

to make me less afraid,

more accessible,

loosen my heart

until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise.

I choose to risk my significance,

to live so that which came to me as seed

goes to the next as blossom,

and that which came to me as blossom,

goes on as fruit. — Dawna Markova

Taking It Home

Create a mandala that connects you and your interests to others. Remember to write the date on the page. In the future you might find it interesting to look back at the mandala and recall when you made it.

Find Out More

Explore:

• Online resources of the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History and/or sign up for Starstruck, their email newsletter.
• Online resources at Spiritual Direction International

Read:

• Montgomery, Kay, ed., Landscapes of Aging and Spirituality: Essays (Skinner, 2015)
• Blanchard, Eliza, The Seasoned Soul: Reflections on Growing Older (Skinner, 2012)
• Markova, Dawna, I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion (Conari Press, 2000)