Free from fear

I was privileged to share a conversation with my brother about fear, and the afterlife. I was amazed at how similar our views are.
When I was active in the LDS faith, I was more afraid of death then at any other time in life. Part of it was that my husband has a terminal illness. The idea of an afterlife may seem comforting to some, but I found that it filled me with real fear. I found myself worrying over whether I would be good enough to see my husband again. Whether I would be forever separated from those I loved. I found this fear distracting, I found that it took away from the quality of life that I wanted.
There are many reasons that I left that church, none that need be spoken here. When I started reading about Buddhism I was impressed with the idea that practicing mindfulness was the ideal. Suddenly this fear of death fled, and I was left with a determination to live this life with compassion and real love. Sometimes people get so caught up in the idea of a perfect "second" life that they don't fully embrace this one.