Stuff

This is what I believe:

1. We are born, some time passes and then we die.
2. Death is what makes us who we are.
3. Death teaches us to tell the time.
4. Death shows us how to live and love.
5. Without death we could not tell a story or make a journey.
6. The last thing on our CV is a death certificate.
7. Death makes life a precious commodity.
8. Death is proud, mighty and dreadful.

Now I am getting old I’ve come to feel that my purpose is to come to terms with death and thus wring the most out of life. I’ve got a long way to go. I want to be a funeral celebrant, so I can help people face death and value life and make progress on my own journey.

Some people call death “god” and worship it. I don’t agree, but I can see where they are coming from and I’m happy to be on the journey with them, provided they don’t try to force their beliefs on me or insist that their sacred writings are anything more than beautiful allegories.

The older I get the more I see people as either “real” or “monstrous”. Real people are humble in the face of death, often at a sub-conscious level. Monstrous people run from death and the further they run the more monstrous and cruel they become.

I’ve run into a few monsters this week, in the flesh, in emails and and on Facebook and I feel upset and angry about it. I should be more calm, but like I said, I’ve got a long way to go.