Leaving this world gracefully

yesterday a man who i did not know emailed to a theatre class i am part of he could not make it on saturday after all because his uncle would be dying any day now. thinking “gosh how hard.” i deleted the email since i did not know him. and then i HAD to go back in and email him personally to tell him that i just lost my uncle in july and it was hard and my heart goes out to him and his family.

from that we began to email back and forth of our experiences, of our loss. mine that had just occurred and his so near. i sent him the poem a friend sent me when my grandpa died that have i read over and over again with each loss trying to ease myself through my grief. and then he send me an email telling me sharing something so special....

when he was alone with his uncle in the hospital room, he asked him ~ how does it feel that in the next couple days you will close your eyes and never open them again?  his uncle responded:

“we live in a world of things.  my elbow is a thing. i can touch it.  this couch is a thing.  i can touch it.  and i’m going to become an idea.  i love ideas.  ideas can make two people fall in love, they can move mountains, they can change the world.  what is a book?   a book is just explanation on paper.   it just explains to you what you should think.  it’s the idea that’s important.  i love ideas.”

if only i can be so graceful when i leave this world.

i am reminded how fortunate i am to have had even a minute of time with my grandpa, with my uncle, with my friends no longer in their bodies. i keep them alive by spreading the love they gave me on to others.

i am also reminded that all it took was me reaching out to someone and we both touched each other reminding us that we are not alone and everything will be okay. angels are those around us who come to as at a time in need. thank you david for sharing with me. my loss seems to have transitioned just a little further to be okay.

cjj