The Five Contemplations

1...I'm certain to become old. I cannot avoid aging.

2...I'm certain to become ill and experience disease. I cannot avoid sickness.

3...I'm certain to die. I cannot avoid death.

4....All things dear and beloved will not last. They're subject to change and separation like everything else.

5...My karma is my property,
Karma is my only heritage; Karma is the only cause for my being.
Karma is my only kin, my only protection,
Whatever actions I do, good or bad, I shall become their heir.

These contemplations are not meant to be morbid nor an exercise in the blues. They're a simple reminder of the basic facts of existence.

Verse 6 of the Dhammapada says, “There are those who forget that death will come to all. For those who remember, quarrels come to an end.”

What's the reason to fight and argue over things that, a fraction of a second after our death, mean nothing.

The 5^th Contemplation is our comfort. Remember the word karma means action, volitional action. 

What we, by our free-choice, do by action of body, word, and thought creates our present and our future.

Karma is the parent of our past.