I used to have two dogs, both around 6-7 years old at the time. One day, as I was sitting and scratching their bellies, a thought crossed my mind: how would I feel if they were to leave me? How devastated would I be, how much would I cry?

After that thought passed, I scratched their bellies as if it were the last day I’d get to do it, and I kept doing that every day. Until one day, they truly had to leave. I was still heartbroken, but I learned what it meant to practice death before it actually happens. And to this day, even though it’s been over 10 years, I still thank them for teaching me the truth of life.