There Is No Death
I am standing on the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch her until at length she is a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says, "There! She's gone!" Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side, and she is just as able to bear her load of living weight to her destined harbor.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at the moment when someone at my side says, There! She's gone! there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, "There she comes!"
And that is dying.
-- Henry Jackson van Dyke
I have a plaque in my home that says: I AM intelligent, creative, empathetic, kind, caring, cheerful, honest, excited, healthy, beautiful, interested, interesting, encouraging, loving and loved. I could add... egotistical, maniacal, menopausal, and even proclaim that the world revolves around me... and it does!!I am now the matriarch of my family – aunt to 26 nieces and nephews, Mother of 4, grandmother to 5 ----- OF the most beautiful and intelligent babies that ever existed!! I am a wife, internet surfer, homemaker, housecleaner, female handyman, hospice nurse, gardener and LOVER of power tools!! That is pretty significant, because I believe anyone can do anything if they have the right tools!!My two sons are awesome people. The oldest left the Navy recently - after two tours - one in Afghanistan and another in Iraq. He has settled, at least for now in Kingsville, TX and is completing his degree. The youngest works in our hometown as an apprentice plumber. He and his wife have a darling baby girl.My two daughters are beautiful, strong individuals. The oldest is a wise old soul and mother of two gorgeous littles girls. The youngest works as a nurse's aide and is mother to two very handsome and smart little boys.
I am creative – working in pastels, I create beautiful paintings and charcoal drawings. Working on a piece brings me great joy, energy and enthusiasm (or is it that I bring those traits to the work?)!!I am a friend to a few, an acquaintance to many, a healer with training in Qi Kung and now a master in Reiki – an ancient hands on healing technique in which universal life force is flowed to those in need. My latest interest is in EFT - emotional freedom techniqueMost of all, I am a seeker... A seeker of new information, a seeker for meaning, seeking to discover what I can bring to this life.I am married to the love of my life, a man with the deepest sense of spirituality and self mastery I’ve ever known – he’s been my greatest teacher and supporter. He brought with him two dtrs whom I claim as my own.Miracles are an everyday part of my life - expected and appreciated to no end. The miracle of the chance encounter, the miracle of allowing the flow and not resisting, the miracle of knowing that all really is well, even if I perceive momentarily otherwise. Caring for the dying wakes me up to living every moment with gratefulness and awe. Purple Stars myspace layout
