Death Is About Really Living
And this is how I choose to live
As if I'm jumping off a cliff
Knowing that you'll save me
Never forget
There's life after death (and taxes)
Forgiveness comes
And all of the rest, it just passes away
Death and decay can't touch us now
So yesterday I was at a funeral. I tend to get angry at funerals, especially Christian ones, but not for the reasons you'd expect... Usually I'm angry at ignorance. Most of the funerals I've been to are not directly connected with me - the deceased are usually relatives of my friends, as was the case yesterday. Still difficult, but somehow removed. I always get angry when people talk about "God's timing." I'm sorry, but the God I know as a Christian doesn't whisk people away in fiery crashes before they're done with the things they want to finish. He's not into that. I mean, I've heard of a couple of people who died FINISHED. Really finished! They weren't longing to have done something. They weren't sorry they didn't get to see their granddaughter's wedding, they were actually, really done. And I've seen hundreds of thousands of people who died before they were finished, and that's the way the whole world thinks. We don't believe it's possible to finish the race of life! We really don't believe that, and it shocks me. Sure it can be taken away suddenly, but that's not a kind of pessimism that's helpful for your judgment. That's fatalism. There's so much more to hope for!
I am going to do my level best to live life to the full, so that one day when I hit my late 80's, I'll have done EVERYTHING I wanted to do. Getting married, raising a family, going to Italy, doing a wall mural... If I haven't done all those things and a thousand more by the time I hit old age, then I'll have failed myself in some way by not living the dream of doing everything. And if I died suddenly, I want people to be able to say of me, "There's someone who COULD have done everything, and she was on her way to doing it! She made every day count." I want my funeral, some day in the distant, distant future, to be nothing but a celebration of a life lived to the full. And that is how I'm going to live, and how I've been living.
If I had to pick a role model for real, I'd have to pick someone like that. Someone who died when they were done, and lived like they planned to. That's what makes life truly worthwhile. Does anyone know someone who died like that? I want to hear your story. Comment!
And so that's my challenge to you right now: When you die, will they be able to say that about you? That you took life, day by day, and did your best to really live it? That you mattered to people? That your relationships with your friends were strong and unbreakable and beautiful, and people liked you? Isn't that how you want to be remembered?
Thank you to all the people who taught me and encouraged me to live like this.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
This isTwyla's post #5 in BLOGATHON 2007.
Hello to all my visitors! Please comment to let me know you were here.
If you enjoyed this post, consider helping to stopslavery in our lifetime,
Because nobody should be for sale. Thanks for coming out!
Blogathon Sponsors have pledged/donated $565 to the cause as of this post.
Are you going to make a pledge to help me meet or even exceed my $1000 goal?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As if I'm jumping off a cliff
Knowing that you'll save me
Never forget
There's life after death (and taxes)
Forgiveness comes
And all of the rest, it just passes away
Death and decay can't touch us now
So yesterday I was at a funeral. I tend to get angry at funerals, especially Christian ones, but not for the reasons you'd expect... Usually I'm angry at ignorance. Most of the funerals I've been to are not directly connected with me - the deceased are usually relatives of my friends, as was the case yesterday. Still difficult, but somehow removed. I always get angry when people talk about "God's timing." I'm sorry, but the God I know as a Christian doesn't whisk people away in fiery crashes before they're done with the things they want to finish. He's not into that. I mean, I've heard of a couple of people who died FINISHED. Really finished! They weren't longing to have done something. They weren't sorry they didn't get to see their granddaughter's wedding, they were actually, really done. And I've seen hundreds of thousands of people who died before they were finished, and that's the way the whole world thinks. We don't believe it's possible to finish the race of life! We really don't believe that, and it shocks me. Sure it can be taken away suddenly, but that's not a kind of pessimism that's helpful for your judgment. That's fatalism. There's so much more to hope for!
I am going to do my level best to live life to the full, so that one day when I hit my late 80's, I'll have done EVERYTHING I wanted to do. Getting married, raising a family, going to Italy, doing a wall mural... If I haven't done all those things and a thousand more by the time I hit old age, then I'll have failed myself in some way by not living the dream of doing everything. And if I died suddenly, I want people to be able to say of me, "There's someone who COULD have done everything, and she was on her way to doing it! She made every day count." I want my funeral, some day in the distant, distant future, to be nothing but a celebration of a life lived to the full. And that is how I'm going to live, and how I've been living.
If I had to pick a role model for real, I'd have to pick someone like that. Someone who died when they were done, and lived like they planned to. That's what makes life truly worthwhile. Does anyone know someone who died like that? I want to hear your story. Comment!
And so that's my challenge to you right now: When you die, will they be able to say that about you? That you took life, day by day, and did your best to really live it? That you mattered to people? That your relationships with your friends were strong and unbreakable and beautiful, and people liked you? Isn't that how you want to be remembered?
Thank you to all the people who taught me and encouraged me to live like this.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
This isTwyla's post #5 in BLOGATHON 2007.
Hello to all my visitors! Please comment to let me know you were here.
If you enjoyed this post, consider helping to stopslavery in our lifetime,
Because nobody should be for sale. Thanks for coming out!
Blogathon Sponsors have pledged/donated $565 to the cause as of this post.
Are you going to make a pledge to help me meet or even exceed my $1000 goal?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~