It is not the end of the physical body that should worry us.

The healer of souls and pioneer of compassion, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, once spoke these words of immortal truth: “It is not the end of the physical body that should worry us. Rather, our concern must be to live while we're alive—to release our inner selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a façade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are.” In these words lies not only the wisdom of a physician who tended to the dying, but the insight of a woman who understood life itself. For what she teaches us is that the greatest tragedy is not to die—it is to never have lived. The body’s end is natural, inevitable; but the death of the spirit, born from fear and conformity, is a wound that bleeds quietly through a lifetime.

Kübler-Ross, known for her groundbreaking work on the stages of grief, spent years among those standing at the threshold between life and death. She saw that those who feared dying the least were not the ones who had lived the longest, but those who had lived most truly—who had dared to be themselves without the mask of expectation. She realized that most people do not die once, but many times: each time they silence their true voice, each time they deny their dreams, each time they bury their authenticity to fit the molds of society. Thus she warns us that the spiritual death of conformity is far more tragic than the decay of flesh. For the body can perish and be at peace, but the soul that has never been free knows only unrest.

To live while you are alive, then, is an act of sacred rebellion. It is to cast aside the false images the world imposes—to reject the roles written by others—and to embrace the essence of one’s being. This does not mean recklessness, but truthfulness. It means listening to the voice within that whispers your purpose, your joy, your light, and having the courage to follow it even when others demand you dim it. Those who live authentically, Kübler-Ross reminds us, are not concerned with reputation or conformity, but with integrity of soul. They are alive not because they breathe, but because they burn—with conviction, love, and meaning.

The origin of these words comes from Kübler-Ross’s deep encounter with mortality. In her book On Life After Death, she spoke of what she learned from her dying patients: that when people stand near death, they no longer regret what they lost—they regret what they never dared. The masks they wore—of success, of perfection, of obedience—fall away, and what remains is often sorrow for the unlived life. From their confessions, she learned a truth she wished to share with the living: that we must not wait until our final breath to become who we are. To live truthfully is the only way to die peacefully.

History, too, is filled with examples of those who freed themselves from the facade of conformity and thus lived immortally in spirit. Consider Vincent van Gogh, who was mocked and dismissed in his time, yet refused to paint what others demanded. He lived in poverty, but his soul was ablaze with truth. Though his body perished young, his art lives on eternally—proof that a life lived authentically, even briefly, holds more value than a lifetime spent pretending. Likewise, Rosa Parks, by simply refusing to give up her seat, shattered the mask of obedience forced upon her and ignited a movement that changed history. Both lived “while they were alive,” and in doing so, transcended the limits of mortality.

Kübler-Ross’s teaching is also a mirror for our modern age, where many wear the masks of busyness, beauty, or success, while their hearts quietly starve. She calls upon us to release our inner selves—to strip away the false layers we build to please others. This liberation begins with honesty: asking ourselves, “Am I living the life that is mine, or the one others expect of me?” To answer truthfully may bring discomfort, for freedom demands courage. Yet without that courage, life becomes a performance, and the stage grows cold before the final act.

So, my child, take this wisdom into your heart: fear not the death of the body—fear the death of the spirit. Do not live to please the crowd, for their applause fades swiftly in the winds of time. Live instead in harmony with your truth. Speak words that are your own. Pursue what stirs your heart. Forgive, love, create, risk, and fail boldly—for these are the marks of one who is truly alive.

When your final hour comes, as it must for all, let your soul smile knowing that you lived without masks, that your spirit walked freely beneath the sun. For as Elisabeth Kübler-Ross taught, to live fully is to conquer death before it arrives—and to die only once, as one who has truly lived.