It took me 310 days to dare to talk about death. That's probably because it is not the first topic that comes to mind when you think about happiness. But it is part of life and learning to cope with the idea of impermanence is necessary if you truly want to be happy.
Egyptians tend to avoid the topic at all costs. You should go about your life pretending you're eternal. But then, when you're confronted with someone getting sick to a point of no return, you don't know what to say and when someone dies, you don't know how to grieve.
When I first met my husband, I realized that not every one avoided the topic the way I did. In his family, (he's Italian) when a close relative passes away, people will even bring their small children to the funeral home. Italian children are confronted with death very early on.
These past few days, two people I know passed away. On Friday, the best friend of one of my friends and tonight, the wife of one of my husband's close friends, a mother of two. They were both young (41 and 42 years old) and full of life... It seems so unfair for them to die at such a young age. And I feel an atrocious pain when I think of those children. Why do such tragedies happen!
I believe that the only way to live through such grief is to have faith. It doesn't take away the pain, but it can soothe it in times of despair. No matter the religion or set of beliefs, faith can help you see the bigger picture. Most religions believe the soul lives on.
Catholics and Muslims believe in an afterlife. For Buddhists, death is by no means the end of life. It is merely the end of the body we inhabit in this life, but our spirit still remain and reincarnate into a new body and new life.
We're on this planet only a short while... And although it all seems so absurd at times, death is a reality we all have to face one day or another. As someone once said, the only thing certain in life is death and taxes, and there is no way of avoiding it.
If that is the case, then the only thing we can do is try to make this life the best life possible. With all the pain and joy it provides, with all the excitement and sorrow it gives, with all it brings and all it takes away. Such is life... a constant circle of beginnings and endings.
This post is dedicated to the family and friends of Christine and Heather and to anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one. May you find strength and courage to go on.
1 comment:
What a beautiful post. Truly.
I'm glad you dared to ponder the topic of death.
You're right... life is a constant cycle of beginnings and endings.
I watched a wonderful interview with Mme. Cora from Chez Cora restaurants. She spoke of every hardship, defeat,mistake or ending in her life as the catalyst to transformation. Each hardship pushed her to become a more proactive participant in her own life.
This led her to believe that life is perfect.
The "good" and the "bad" are all stepping stones to experiencing the sense of a life more fully and richly lived.
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