Each of us will experience physical death. That’s just part of the package of being a living creature. Life can be joyful and painful. That is also part of the package. We can choose to take life head on. We can take life as it comes and make our way through it. Each one of our lives is a unique life. Sure, we live our lives connected to one another and yes, we share themes in our lives, but each life is a special story that only one can tell. I love that each one of us has a story and can bring a perspective on a situation that belongs to that person and his or her understanding through the experience of life.
As with life, so is death. Each one of us enters into death uniquely. We rarely get a second chance. I listen to people’s death stories often. They can be quite beautiful and I honor those stories as sacred moments in people’s life. Often these stories are painful - filled with the pain of separation that death brings. Often the life story seems left unfinished. Sometimes the life is cut far too short when the person had what we had hoped would be a long and full life. Death so often disappoints. We can make plans. We can talk things through with our families. We can even take steps to ensure we have the kind of death we want. In the end, death can come when we are not looking and take the person from our lives.
Some of us have had to make peace with terrible deaths that have torn our hearts. Sometimes we feel as though someone has been stolen from our lives. Sometimes it takes years to move forward and in some way make peace with the realities of life and death. Moving forward can come in small ways as we attempt to make a life without those we love. Small ways can make way for larger changes if we need to make them. Each life is unique and so is each death. Let us take a breath and look at who we have intersecting our lives and enjoy life with them. When the time comes that we part company in death, let us remember the joy that they brought us as only they could.
As with life, so is death. Each one of us enters into death uniquely. We rarely get a second chance. I listen to people’s death stories often. They can be quite beautiful and I honor those stories as sacred moments in people’s life. Often these stories are painful - filled with the pain of separation that death brings. Often the life story seems left unfinished. Sometimes the life is cut far too short when the person had what we had hoped would be a long and full life. Death so often disappoints. We can make plans. We can talk things through with our families. We can even take steps to ensure we have the kind of death we want. In the end, death can come when we are not looking and take the person from our lives.
Some of us have had to make peace with terrible deaths that have torn our hearts. Sometimes we feel as though someone has been stolen from our lives. Sometimes it takes years to move forward and in some way make peace with the realities of life and death. Moving forward can come in small ways as we attempt to make a life without those we love. Small ways can make way for larger changes if we need to make them. Each life is unique and so is each death. Let us take a breath and look at who we have intersecting our lives and enjoy life with them. When the time comes that we part company in death, let us remember the joy that they brought us as only they could.
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