I've seen death. I've been to more funerals than I've been to weddings. I've watched the life pour out of a body leaving it colorless and still. But what is death? Death is described as the cessation of all biological functions that sustains an organism. Everything that has life will eventually die. Eternal oblivion. We cannot stop it. We can sometimes slow it down, perhaps, but it will eventually be a lost cause. There are so many unanswered questions about death. Where will we go when we die? Will we see this world again? Will we remember anything of this life?
Some people believe that where we go after we die is solely based on how we live our life here on earth. There are a lot of variations to this belief but the general idea is there. Being that you follow a certain way of life in order to achieve salvation. Some believe that we are reincarnated into something valuable and beautiful such as a tree, flower, or an animal. Some people believe that nothing happens when you die and this is one of the more frightening beliefs.
Who knows what truly happens when you die? No one.
We've heard stories about the "in between" and people seeing Jesus. We've all heard someone say, "I saw the light." I'm not writing this to persuade you one way or the other but to simply discuss "death". More times than not, death hurts the living more than it hurts the dead. The idea of death is hard. The unknown is scary and the reality of death...? Well, it's unknown. We mourn and we have trouble letting go of loved ones who are trying to pass on to whatever lies ahead. Some are scared of being left behind, and others are begging to be let go. No matter what you believe one thing stands true: death is inevitable. We can try to stop it, we can slow it down, but that is the extent to our ability when it comes to death. I think death is so scary because you'll never know when it will cross your path.
So how should we approach death?
With grace. With hope. With dignity. We as humans pray that our loved ones sleep peacefully and transition into the next life easily. And then we should mourn. We should remember. We should walk gracefully through this life leaving behind positivity and happiness wherever we go. Death for the living is painful and full of sorrow but death for the dead is easy and quiet.
The worst thing we can do is stop living because of the pain caused by death. Death is painful and I'm not trying to act like it's not but death is inevitable and it will effect you in a way in which you decide. There is nothing beautiful about death...for the living. But for the dead? How can we know? When your fight is finally over I hope that it's beautiful. I hope that you feel peace and I pray that you run to death with open arms. So live. Live and live and live and live and don't stop living until you die.
