DEATH!

A word.
A doorway.
An absence.
It's an ending on one side,
an arrival home on the other.
A completion of life's circle.
Life coming from somewhere else
and life returning after sojourning here.

Death!
Some people fear it.
Others welcome it.
Many fight it.
Some make it.
Most won't talk about it,
as if denial will hold it at bay.
Not to take their loved ones.
Others, but never me, or mine.

Death!
Gift! Curse! Blessing! Sorrow!
In time. To soon. Painful. Peaceful.
It is the pendulum
that swings on us all.
How will we meet this
common human experience?
Will we resist the inevitable, or embrace it,
as we would the last chapter of a well loved book?

Death!
The best answer to it...
Is to live life well.
Be honest, open, helpful, giving,
supportive of friend and family, harming no one.
Smiling often. Ease of laughter.
In all things, calling your truest Self
into action every morning.
Always believing
death is not only an end,

but also a new beginning.
A new birth.

(c) 5.26.01