Not Gone Altogether

We think that dying is the end of the story. Physically, yes. But in some circumstances, a death is the beginning of a whole series of events. It can even be the door to a new life. Just looking around me, in my little two roomed flat, I felt rich i.e. wealthy and content. I don't have any thing ultra valuable, just a lot of very sentimental, usable stuff, that I was thankful for. My late husband still provides for me. I'd have been worse off without all this - my own place to live in, even if it's rented, a stock of food in the refrigerator, clothes to wear, a computer to connect with the outside world, a car to move around in and all the basic necessities of life. 

I'm lucky, much luckier than so many others who may have been left high and dry or have nothing at all after all debts are paid. He was a good husband, a gentle and kind man, who cared for me, even making sure I could continue life, independently without having to worry about basic needs. I like a quiet life, although I'm forced to leave the security of my shell to face the world when others may need an extra hand. It's not comfortable, but necessary. Much of the time, I like being left on my own to potter around in my own world, enjoying whatever I enjoy doing - reading, writing, building castles in the air...So, his going away, started my 'new' life.

A woman who dies in childbirth still gives the world a gift - her child, starting a new life, a new history and a new hope for the future. It is often hard to tell how this gift will be received by the world at large. 

Princess Diana's death brought changes to the British Royals that probably would never have happened, until William comes to the throne. Yet, it had such an impact that now, William and Kate ( his wife) are public figures who are less remote, more humanly identifiable as normal celebrities, and more approachable. They have, in a way, stepped off their pedestals. Thanks to Diana Spencer for being a good mother, who understood what children need to lead a normal life, as normal human beings. 

Back in the 1980s, the tragic killing of Benigno Aquino, father of the current Philippine president, Benigno Aquino III, whose mother, Corazon Aquino, was also a former president of that country, served to bring changes in the Philippines, for which all hope was almost lost. The country was freed from the clutches of dictator, Ferdinand Marcos.

So death actually brings new life, as Jesus said, " A seed, gives up its life for a tree to grow."
Death is not the end but a new beginning.