I ask Ram Dass if he is thinking about last words. There is a tradition of spiritual teachers planning their last words. Zen masters compose a poem. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche said, "Never forget how swiftly this life will be over -- like a flash of summer lightning or the wave of a hand." Ramakrishna said, "O mind, do not worry about the body. Let the body and its pain take care of each other. Think of the Holy Mother and be happy." The Buddha said, "'Everything is subject to change. Remember to practice the teachings earnestly." The Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, said about death, "Nothing happens."

Ram Dass responds, "I think, first, if you have something important to say, say it now. Say you love someone now. Forgive someone now. Don't wait. Second, live in the moment. Know that moments are not in time. They are not in the world of the clock, the changing seasons, the process of growing old. Moments are in soul time. Live in the soul. Then you'll be ready for the moment of death. As you get closer to death, your intuition gets stronger. You'll know when you are getting closer. Forgive yourself and others. When Christ says, 'I am making all things new,' it's the same as living in the here and now and starting fresh in every moment. When you are really in this moment, everything is new, and the moment of death is just another moment."

— Ram Dass, Mirabai Bush in Walking Each Other Home