Recently, my Mother-in-Law died and on a sunny morning with a feel of autumn in the air, we attended a beautiful funeral service. Prior to the service, a committal service was held where a portion of her cremated ashes were sprinkled in the memorial garden. She was 88 when she died and by all accounts she had a full life, but suffered from dementia and painful arthritis the last few years of her life. The thing that struck me most during our last several visits with her was how depressed she was, and I have to imagine that death was a welcome release for her. Still, when I saw her ashes and the container that held them, it struck me how little of her being remained on the earth when just a few weeks ago, she was a living person.
A whole series of thoughts
went through my mind during the services.
Where did she go? Did she go to a
good place? I have to admit that death
scares me a bit. Now to frame this, most
people, me included, believe that death leads to something amazing, whether we
define it as paradise, heaven, the spirit dimension, as one with God, as one
with the universe. Accounts of
near-death experiences validate this. So
why would it be scary? I suppose it is
fear of the unknown. Was mom scared when
she knew it was her time? Did she see
God, did God tell her it was ok, and did God help her cross the threshold?
The universe, certainly in
mortal terms, is essentially infinite and eternal. Given this fact, what is the purpose of
mortal life? Perhaps life, not death is
the greater mystery. Life is truly a
miracle. Are we here to somehow expand
the universe? To improve it in some way? Mortality no doubt is a great motivator. If we lived forever, would we be motivated to
do anything? Mortality drives us to
greatness. To take risks. To love.
To do amazing things. The purpose
of life is to do all of this. And when
our souls return to the spirit dimension and we leave our ashes behind, the
best legacy we can leave is a better world filled with more love.
Photo courtesy morguefile.com
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