Death is life, and life is somehow defined by the finality of death. I find myself today at a loss. One of my grandparents has passed on. Having learned of her final days made me think.
Freedom is soul less the burdens of the flesh. In her last few weeks on Earth, my grandmother was not in the best of health. Illness had made it hard to even breathe, much less do anything we who are young, vibrant, full of strength, deem to be part of routine. We take too many things for granted while we patrol this realm. Ironically, life itself, living, is one of those things.
This is supposed to be a travel blog, peppered with the usual stream-of-consciousness stuff that is meant to make observations hold water before the Jury of Meaning. As I have been faced with the reality of death, I have been reminded of the significance of the ultimate journey- of trying to go through life "doing" Carpe Diem, and not just wearing the words on a t-shirt.
My grandmother- and all the others I have had (we are a big family), for that matter- are absolute gems. I use this term to describe them because it is through them that I have recalled the brilliance of living, and living fully. Times were not always easy for these women, no way, but in their own individual ways, they persevered. One was a nurse, a few homemakers, and another, well, could kill sea snakes with her bare hands- or so she told wide-eyed little me when I was very young. They all have managed to weave a brand of magic that I don't think I will ever cease to appreciate.
Whether I find myself in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles, Rome, or, well, at the bottom of a well somewhere, I know the spirits, the virtues, of my kin will always be with me, helping me navigate through life. I would be so much less without these amazing guiding lights.
Life is defined by death, and death, by life. True freedom is also defined by the treasures rendered by a life lived, and while life is lost as the journey ends, the life is never, ever, forgotten.
Love knows no death. Love lives free. Love flourishes upon which radiance would normally never be.
MC
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