Passages

My friend Lucca is in the process of watching one her of friends die of cancer. On her blog, she writes about feeling some excitement at his imminent passing. While some would think that strange, it makes perfect sense to me.

Passages, whether they be a birth, a child leaving home, a marriage, a divorce or a death, all carry a promise of things to come. Perhaps it's the optimist in me, or perhaps it's my belief in the 'afterlife', but I don't regard death as a tragedy. It is just the next step in the journey. And while I have no intention of leaving this earth any time soon (there's still way too much I want to experience and do), I must say there's a hint of excitement in some corner of my brain about what might be in store for me when I do leave.

Of course this is easy for me to say at this point; not so easy if someone close to me were to leave 'prematurely'. But should that happen, I hope I will be able to look beyond my own grief to find the celebratory wonder in the passing.