PSYCHIC VIEW: Death Be So Proud

I just watched the series finale for HBO's Six Feet Under and have been a loyal fan. It's the brainchild of Alan Ball (also responsible for the Oscar-winning film, American Beauty) and compels us to look at the value of life from the perspective of death.

For those who've never seen the series, it revolves around a family-owned mortuary. Each family member is showcased to represent (and celebrate) each aspect of life. Unlike a great majority of programming, this series addresses all the ages and perspectives of life, as well as the emotional challenges associated with each stage or lifestyle. The series not only proves that there are as many beliefs about God (or lack thereof) as there are people, but gives viewers permission to feel similarly.

Claire (the youngest of the Fisher family) has just decided to go to New York to pursue her career as a photographer. She had been hired at a swanky magazine and the night before she was to leave for this job she finds out that the company has been taken over by another firm and there's no longer a job for her. She decides not to tell her family that she didn't get the job, but to go to New York anyway.

I wish I could have watched the last 10 minutes of this last installment on a very large screen. We see Claire envision the futures of her family members—each as they encounter their final moments. We watch through her eyes the achievement and ease of these significant people and that they each reach their meaning of life—not by any other standards but their own. And finally, we see Claire at a very old age and blinded by cataracts, surrounded by the important photographs (and therefore the people) of her life.

There's a card in the deck I use called "Inner Voice" and resonates to the High Priestess card in traditional tarot. Among the traditional definitions, "Out of darkness brings light and potential and the feminine aspect of spirit—stillness, receptivity, magnetism and intuition." In the OSHO-Zen tarot it simply means the truth through all the human senses. It's your awareness (truth) through those filters.

What most of us never realize is we're supposed to get to our truth through our own view of the world. The gifts we each have need to be celebrated within before we can proclaim them without—and once we do, we need to stay strong enough to see those gifts all the way to success or failure. That's the definition of life: trusting yourself enough to see something to its conclusion.

Critics are presented to you as an opportunity to strengthen your resolve. The harshest critics are typically the people we most admire, so we sometimes mistakenly give those judgments a little too much credence. Think instead of where that criticism might be coming from—it takes one to know one. Don't let someone else's bad behavior give you permission to behave badly. It's not ladylike or gentlemanly and it will probably be exactly the thing for which you're remembered. It takes much more work to be kind or gentle with people who don't deserve it, but you'll never regret your success if you operate this way.

I'll never forget meeting Patti La Belle. When I was offered a ticket to the concert, I said I wouldn't be able to attend because I had to work, but would she autograph the ticket for me. "Of course, and thank you for asking," she said. (I still have that ticket.) She was delightful, beautiful and gracious—and unforgettable.

Look at everything now from the far perspective of your advanced years. Will you celebrate that you actually had the fortitude to see your dreams to their ultimate conclusion? Will you make every effort to be your true self so your regrets will be few? Will you be proud of your life? Celebrate it all, because it's the dignity of life's adventure that counts.

Mona Van Joseph is a licensed professional in the psychic arts through the city of Las Vegas. Her show, Midnights with Mona, airs weeknights on KDWN 720 AM. You may e-mail questions to [email protected].