Death Defies Her and Defines Her

It is easy for us to treat the future and time as luxuries which we take for granted both individually and simultaneously. This mindset furthers our ability to place them on the shelf of “present, but not requiring attention.” Unfortunately, the future is known to be a feckless delinquent (particularly in the presence of plans), and time is a relentless victor when achieving its mission. Yet many of us continue to interact with both as if one is a concrete, fair player, and the other is ever-available.  

I work in a place where, on a daily basis, both of these luxuries are brought to the forefront of people’s lives, and both reverse roles to become a sine qua non of the present. The future- suddenly a stranger; time- of the personal sense- limited in quantity. Sadly, this is often what it takes for time to become abundant in quality and for the future to be taken advantage of in the present.   

On this note, when time and future are placed in peril, we often see who we truly are. At no small observation- and at no small surprise or wonder- the removal of luxuries often reveals the stark nudity of our own truth- a bare soul sans a shred to hide behind; a life donning its birthday suit. With nothing left to hide behind, we are left only to examine what is patently present. We are left to wash our emotions over the threaded-together-events that form the story of our lives.

I’ve seen people experience this baptismal wash at all ages-from those just a few breaths in, to those thousands of days out. I’ve seen people have to experience it in all forms- from losing a child, to losing a parent, to facing his or her own death. Sometimes it is a lone bathing; other times it is communal. What I’ve seen most, particularly at a hospital where time and future all-too-often don’t play by the rules of life we come to expect, is the beauty that lies within so many of us when we are left with nothing to hide behind. I started this blog with the thought of, “It shouldn’t take the ugliness of death to make us realize the beauty of life and of living.” I’m now left thinking, “Perhaps the beauty of life that death reveals is a reminder of why we live in the first place.”

And with that thought, I am off to go live life. To share it with others, to chase a dream, to find laughter hidden in little places, to reconnect with loved ones…to just live. I encourage you to do the same.