Death and I go way back.Seriously, when i say way back i mean i was seeing spirit when i was two years old .Just imagine how hard making friends in preschool is when you can't tell who's alive or dead.  In all seriousness, my connection with Death has been a complex one, to say the least.  I have had the most amazing relationship with it. I have connected to beautiful souls, souls that opened me up ,who taught me how to cherish life. I used to dance with the shadows that I saw creeping around my room. I know it sounds crazy,  I used to fantasize about how I would die. I would imagine that butterflies would lift me up above the clouds. That I would be able to dance freely between heaven and earth  without experiencing pain or fear.  I would laugh with the souls that left  the boundary of earth and their body behind. I was able to see  and feel the happiness and peace in all the souls that I connected with. At first, I was completely unaware of what I was even doing.It was hard for me to tell the difference between living and dead. At age five I was starting conversations about the journey of a soul, my past life and who I was before.Something about death was intriguing and safe - it was the only certainty I had. It is and forever will be the only thing  that is guaranteed with all life.My life was chaotic ,In times of trouble or uncertainty I leaned into my friends on the other side. I met death - i shook its hand, looked it in the eye. I danced with it,  feared it at times, & even prayed for my own. What I've learned through this unique relationship with death is that the only beings that perceive it as painful or negative is us. I spent years reconnecting to my gift, it became my mission to show people that this isn't it. This isn't all there is.  Death may be inevitable, our bodies may decay  but connections and love don't die - they always remain. Within our hearts and souls. As Ram Dass says 

“Allowing dying to be so intensely present enriches both the preciousness of each moment and our detachment from it.”