Thoughts On Death

Might It Be A Promise?

Oh, how much easier to live a life untethered.

Without worry, regret, or loss.

No sorrow.

No fear.

No remorse.

But love...

Would you give it up for such a small thing as comfort?

I scribbled these words in my planner one night as thoughts of death once again came unbidden to my mind. I think about it often. It is one thing, perhaps the only thing we are guaranteed, yet there is no way to plan for it.

I know we can’t beat this earthly fatality. Still, I have a strange compulsion never to let it catch me by surprise. Like, I must let Death know that I have not forgotten him. That I might not be prepared for what he brings, but I will not be caught off guard.

In fact, I’ve planned my own funeral several times, and I’ve left notes for loved ones for after I'm gone. I tell people I love them like it might be the last time because I am so acutely aware that it could be.

Morbid? Maybe. But true.

It’s worst of all with my pups because experiencing their death feels more inevitable somehow. So, they get that extra walk. I treat them to those occasional puppacinos. I stay in bed for a few more minutes of snuggles in the morning, and I take that break in the afternoon to go lay on the floor and stare at their faces. (If you have a dog, you know what I mean.)

It is a greater probability that I will live to see their passing, and I know that loss will hurt, but I would never trade the years I get to spend with them for all the world. Their joy, companionship, loyalty, and love are all one big unmeasurable gift. So, I cherish it.

My limited time with them, allows me to appreciate them more deeply.

This has me wondering, then, if death doesn’t have to be a malevolent shadow looming over everything.

If death might, in fact, be a promise? A reminder that this broken world is finite and that our pain and suffering will not last forever.

Might the passing of time be a tool that helps us learn what is truly important? Does not the ticking clock encourage us to choose?

What choices are we making?

The human soul is eternal, but the life it spends in these bodies is not. We only have a certain amount of time.

How are we going to spend it?

How are we going to treat our fellow fragile creatures?

I hope we choose love over comfort.

Because love is what we take with us. Love is what makes us infinite. And there is a true untainted source of love that comes from the One who created us all.

Will we trust that Creator? I hope so.

Because I believe love is why He created us in the first place.