Hatched by design, died in error
yes sleepy....;
"nevermind" that's the important thing !!
do not stand at my grave and weep
i am not there - i do not sleep,
i am in the thousand winds that blow,
i am the softly falling snow,
i am the gentle showers of rain,
i am the fields of ripening grain,
i am in the morning hush,
i am in the graceful rush,
of beautiful birds in circling flight,
i am the starshine of the night,
i am in the flowers that bloom,
i am in a quiet room,
i am in the birds that sing,
i am in each lovely thing,
do not stand at my grave and cry,
i am not there, i did not die.
epitaph
Babs, this is a beautiful statement, very compatible with the perspective of Buddhism. Its last sentence, "I did not die", must not be taken as a denial of death; in buddhist terms it means "'I' my ego died," but my true nature, that which I was before I was born, continues to be (as all things, it has no beginning and no end). This was the epitaph of my late wife. She loved it.
Somebody forgot to tell me my visit was temporary. c.i.
Thanks for your comments JLN, yes I am aware of the
Buddhist nature of this. I have no denial of death
anymore, not these days. I also think a great deal
about the Buddhist custom (worth it's weight in gold,
as a reminder) that a small bird sits upon your
shoulder - and each and every day you awake; you
turn to that tiny bird and ask; "is it today?" or "is this
going to be my last day" because none of us ever
knows. Our western civilization and culture tends to
worship youth and deny or ignore death. Thinking
realistically about death and its possible imminent
occurrence, does actually lead one in the direction of
living each day more fully, appreciating every IMPORTANT
thing each day. By important, I don't mean jobs, success,
fame, money in the bank, a bigger house than your
neighbors - by important I mean to be certain to tell my
loved ones, at each opportunity, how much I do love and
appreciate them, for all I know the next day COULD be
my last. This idea prompts me to face death squarely and
to learn that "one must learn to die in order to learn how
to live" [a quote taken from Tuesdays With Morrie] If my
life is seen as a bag full of quarters on the day I was
born, then by now my bag of quarters is over half
empty. And it is still half full. But, with some of my
severe health problems; chances are that it is not
really half full - it may be only one fourth full for all that
I know. Our culture tells us to deny death and this
then leads to us failing to live our lives more fully,
more meaningfully, more vitally. Will that job you have
make much difference to you on the day that you die?
Will your expensive car, home, possessions really be
on the top of your priority list on your last day? I no
longer think that it's morbid to think about death. I know
that death is inevitable for each and every one of us,
not one of us can escape this truth, this reality.... so it's
far better to appreciate what truly does matter in life.
In order to do this, one must look at life in somewhat
the way we would see this life of ours on our very last day.
As you can see from C,I,'s little joke exactly the way that
we americans see (or don't see) our own death reaching
out towards us, closer by every day. Each day we SPEND
one of our bag of diminishing quarters. This teaches us
to ignore our culture and society and make our own if we
must - so that we can live more meaningfully. Make more
friends, find more loved ones - indulge yourself in the
joys of life.... because the days are limited in number.
Babs
Your comments would have been very appropriate on this abuzz thread from last year, "Thoughts On Time ll, On Time and Mortality"
you might find it interesting.
http://nytimes.abuzz.com/interaction/s.256325/discussion
Babs et al;
While such sentiments are beautifully poetic, they do not necessarily represent the actual fact that at the end - it is "the end".
I find it ironic that, if my assessment of the universe is correct, those who believe in an afterlife, of whatever kind, will never know they were wrong, while those, such as myself, who do not, will never have confirmation that we are right.
"Here lies dupre, all dressed up with no place to go."
Or
A huge question mark and
"Here lies dupre, she thought a lot, but never figured anything out."
Once there were places to go
Things to do
People to see
Now I'm sitting on my laurels
if i had any laurels.........
time
Jjorge, that was a classic thread. When I fix my printer I will surely save it. And Babs, thanks for a moving and truthful comment. The last day of our lives should be (if we have lived right) the moment of our supreme wisdom. In Jjorge's abuzz thread, C.I. closed with the adage, "live every day as if it were your last." I added the suggestion that one "live each day as if YESTERDAY were his last." In this way one lives with less attachment, without the desperate grasping born of fearful anticipation. Each moment might be, as if were, gravy.
I told you I wasn't feeling well.
I dunno what i would like mine to be..
Perhaps: The Unicorn is finially free.
Or maybe: Its about time she got to ride her unicorn.
I missed so many busses, I'm not sure where I would have ended up. c.i.
Good ones, Gen! Welcome to A2K!
Thank you Andrew for both your kindness and your welcome!
This is a great place and I'm glad to be here!
Holy cow! He was right all along.
At the end of this life, hopefully:
"She tied up all the loose ends, learned all the lessons."
truth
Tex-Star, I'm SO relieved to see that you're a woman. I was very worried about finding a man attactive.
