Death.

It's a funny thing, death is. 10 out of 10 people die. Some die when they are young, some die when they are old. We know that it will eventually happen to us. We know that it will eventually happen to everybody that we know. We are born into this world with a sure-fire statistic that we all will die.

These are the facts.

Yet for some reason every time death claims another life we are upset. We knew it would happen, yet depression sweeps into the lives of the people that the person had affected.

I’m not going to lecture you about why you should be happy instead of sad when somebody dies but I am going to suggest what you probably already know: the actuality of death is that the person who died is in a much better place. Death is something to be rejoiced at. In death we have the opportunity to appreciate what this person brought to life. The old saying, “You never know what you have until its gone,” is just as true with people as it is with trivial things.

A Roman philosopher, Seneca, said, “The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity.” In death we begin the rest of our lives. Just as when we go to sleep does tomorrow begin, when we die we really begin to live. Socrates said, “Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.” We become truly happy at the moment of death because we reach full knowledge and are in complete union with God. According to J.K. Rowling, “To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” This adventure is the start of the relationship with God in a whole new realm and should be embraced.

We should not in the least bit be sad about death. If anything, the closer that we are to a person who dies, the happier we should be for them. In all reality we should be envious of the dead because of the glory and peace they are experiencing. It is right to mourn but to dwell on death is not fair to the person. Dwelling on death and wishing that the dead were alive is to do an injustice to the person. We want them back because they meant something to us, they took care of us, they taught us, they loved us but death is a vital part of life and should be embraced.

My last quotation is from DaVinci, “As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well used brings happy death.” A death is a reason to rejoice, and is to be celebrated, and should never be asked to be reversed. Death is just as great of an occasion as life. It doesn’t seem like this because death gives life a meaning that we can understand but death has greater implications than life ever could have.

“Don’t cry because its over. Smile because it happened.” -Dr. Seuss

Rest in Eternal Peace Grandma