lessons in life and death

I was alone with my mother when she died.

It was by far the saddest moment of my life

and at the same time

the most profound and meaningful.

In one moment,

there was life

and in another

none.

I remember looking outside

only moments later

and wondering why everything

still looked the same

when they felt so different inside.

The sun was shining,

the leaves in the trees

were blowing in the wind...

life was happening

outside this quiet room.

A feeling i had had

only once before in my life.

At the birth of my now teenage son.

Life and death…

one overwhelmed me with total bliss

and the other with deep sadness.

life experiences that make us

and break us.

That teach us 

about vulnerability

and strength

and compassion

and pain

and forgiveness,

by giving us everything

and taking everything away.

By showing us

what it is to love.

"Yeah we all shine on,

like the moon,

and the stars,

and the sun."

- John Lennon