Life in Small Bites

It’s about a key Buddhist concept

Photo by Darius Bashar on Unsplash

Insights shared by Thomas Oppong

I use the sea and massive open green spaces as reality checks. They strip all my identities and help me get back to pure consciousness. Every time I stand at the edge of the ocean, staring at the horizon, I feel both tiny and infinite at the same time. It’s a humbling feeling.

I let go of my ego, fears and attachments.

The experience puts life into perspective.

Spiritual teacher and author of The Power of Now (one of best books on conscious living), Eckhart Tolle notes “The secret of life is to die before you die — and find that there is no death.”Letting go of everything that holds is back from experiencing our pure selves is life-changing. Tolle speaks of inner transformation. You get rid of the parts of yourself that no longer serve you. You let go of who you think you are.

And in that space, you find the real you hidden under the noise.

Dying before you die is letting go of the illusion that you are just your mind or the drama of it. It means you let go of your false ego. You let go of fear. You let go of control. Let go of the false stories you tell yourself. You die to old habits that don’t serve you. You die to old beliefs holding you back. You stop hiding from your shadows. You accept your mortality. And get back within to find the real self that’s always there. Waiting.

You get back to conscious understanding.

You do this in life.

You die to the person (identity) you think you are. And find out that death is not the end. But a transformation. It’s the real death of who you are not. And when you do that, you realise something huge: you’re still here. More alive than ever. If you do that, what dies is also the key to your conscious self. Alive in the now, experiencing life as is.

Trees go through this process every year: They lose their leaves. Trust the natural process of life and let go. And then wait to bloom again.

Dying before you die shows up everywhere.

In Buddhism, they call it ego death. In Christianity, it’s surrender. In Stoicism, it’s memento mori — remember you will die. All of them say the same thing: stop holding onto false realities. Everything that doesn’t serve you. When you just are, you are one with your conscious self. And that, my friend, is the secret to your best life. Die before you die and you might find something you never expected — inner peace.

“Your worst enemy is hiding within yourself, and that enemy is your nafs or false ego.” — Rumi.

Tolle’s quote applies to life every day.

You face small deaths. You face big deaths. You lose a job. You lose a relationship. You lose someone close to you. You grieve. You heal. You get back inside to reconnect with the still “self” that is. The “you,” fully alive and in control of the path. That’s how you separate yourself from everything that takes you on dark paths.

“To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders,” teacher and philosopher Lao Tzu said.

You are probably thinking, you’ve made your point.

How do you practice “dying before you die”?

Start by getting quiet. Sit in silence. Notice your thoughts. But don’t engage. Separate the observer (you) from the noise (the drama in your mind). Stop believing every thought. Stop resisting what is. That’s the real death — ego death. The part of you that worries, obsesses, and panics about uncertainty?

That’s not you.

That’s just noise. Get quiet. Watch your thoughts, but don’t become them. Notice the space between them. That space? That’s who you are. Not the fear. Not the story. Just awareness. Buddha said, “Attachment is the root of all suffering.” We hold on so tightly to identities, beliefs, and even pain. Let them go. That’s dying before you die. You loosen the thoughts of who you think you are. You make peace with what is.

Whoever loses who they think they are will find who they really are at the other side. Let the false self go, and the real self will show up for you. The self that can’t be touched by loss, time, or fear.

The free self.

But it’s hidden because the mind fights back.

It wants the drama. It loves to hold on. It tells you that without it, you are nothing. That’s the lie. When you stop reacting, when you sit in stillness and let things pass through you, you see it. Life experiences that terrify us come and go, but you remain. So, die before you die. Drop the fear. Drop the illusion of control.

What’s left is inner peace. Presence.

Life itself.

And the best part? When you do this, you realize: there is no death. Only change. Only life, endlessly happening for you, not to you.

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It’s about a key Buddhist concept