The Far Reaching Tendrils of Death

I've 3 lovely chums whose light has been dimmed by the shadow of death recently.

I believe the ones who have died have traversed a passageway through to another adventure, but of course, I'm unlikely to know whether this is true until my body is claimed by it too.

One of the most complex challenges following a passing, is knowing how best to support the earthbound people they've left behind, in a useful way. One that'll help them carve a sane route through the days ahead, as their loved ones are turned into bold print on assorted pages of unfeeling paper.

Paper cuts.

Even more difficult is guiding them towards finding a new jar, so they can gather together the fragments of their old lives and put them back inside safe, solid, glass walls once more. But even this is an illusion really, as glass jars are just as fragile as our hearts and utterly prone to being irreparably smashed.

All we can do is send our friends our love and support them in practical ways if they need it but we cannot fill the hole that has been left in the fabric of their being. We need to be mindful and respectful of that too.

For those with people who've recently passed away, I say: remember them, cry for the sadness of the loss, mourn the space in the Universe that is no longer filled by their shape and noise, utterly miss their voice and sentences that were so them. Laugh about them too if you can, be honest about them, talk about them and as Henry Scott Holland said, 'Don't let there be a ghost of a shadow on their name'.

Some of us will be issued sell-by dates by people who smell of medicine and hard work, and who will never understand the true gravity of their words or physical actions. They'll have a permanent place in our grief, whether they want it, or not.

Then those who've been issued with their sand-timers - and the people in their associated worlds - can choose to change their lives and fight it, but either way they have to live and bleed with that daily burdensome knowledge, as time ticks and dark earth waits.

It awaits us all remember, nobody lives forever.

We're all here on borrowed time and a day closer to the passageway, or as my dear friend Ru says, 'Nearer the horizon'.

So, go put one foot in front of the other and do a few good things while you're here. Make a useful mark, leave a positive footprint. Be grateful for every single living blessing you have in your life and be sure to tell those you love, that you love them.

Me: 'Tick'...

You: 'Tock'...