Three people I know directly or indirectly passed on within the past week. They were of different ages and at different stages in life: one a grandfather who had clocked 80, one a young father, and one a young mother.
In the past few days I have found myself constantly praying for peace for the families and friends they have left behind (really - what else could one wish the bereaved?), and thinking again - and again - about death.
Sometimes I wonder how it feels to be dead. To lose all consciousness of life on this plane, not for a while, but forever. To be unable to console family and friends as they wail uncontrollably. To lie there, seeing nothing and feeling nothing, while strangers poke around the body conducting autopsies and later preparing it for burial. To no longer be able to defends one's self against accusations of any sort. To no longer be able to spend any of the money one has gathered and probably spent a lifetime protecting. To have someone else clean out one's dirty underwear and rummage through the many other secrets one has left behind. To not attend the many birthday parties, matriculation ceremonies, and graduation ceremonies of children and other dear ones left behind. To not be there to hold a spouse on a cold night or work through a difficult decision with them.
I could go on and on, but you get the drift.
The interesting thing is how inevitable all of this is. Rich, poor, old, young, sickly, healthy - we all die someday. And like in the overused cliche, the sum of our lives will be represented in a hyphen between two years.
What then is important? What then can humanity do in the face of such helplessness? What then can we do in the face of such inevitability? What then can we do within our Circle of Influence, seeing as death is within the Circle of Concern?
We can choose to live.
We can choose to die as empty as we can. To live our dreams now (within our means), rather than put them off till an uncertain future. To give now, even if we can only give thousands today as opposed to millions at an uncertain date in the future. To love now, and fully - even if a scarcity of resources limits us in its immediate expression. To learn now, and find fulfillment in putting our learning to work - for there is no distinction between preschoolers and Professors in the grave. To work hard and play hard in complementing cycles. To "make the most of every opportunity, because we live in evil times". To fear God, and obey His commandments.
To live, love, and learn.
We never know what the future holds, but we can live in the "now", with eternity in mind.
May the God of all peace by Himself grant peace to the bereaved in due course, and may He be with us all.
Cheers to the new week.
Koye.
PS:
Turns out I blog about death a lot. Read my previous posts about death here:
1. Thoughts on Goldie's Passing (2013).
2. Thoughts From A Funeral (2012).
3. What Will You Be Remembered For (2009).
Deep insights. I find myself thinking along these lines a lot. We won't be here forever, life is but a vapor, here now gone tomorrow. The best we can do is to make each day count in the midst of goals, targets, projects and recession. The best we can do is to live the way we want to be remembered. Life is too short for serenren, lol.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing bro.