Phenomenal Conclusions.

I just got home from a funeral and have shed my dark attire for fleece pajamas that give me comfort to think. It was a wonderful service because it clearly celebrated this woman's life. The pastor who led the services spoke about attending the funeral of an 11 year old, a few weeks back, and how he felt he needed to remain at the cemetery after family and friends had left. He was struggling with how short a time span this child had here. As he was walking and reflecting, he kept noticing this theme imprinted on all of the headstones, the "dash." The dash between when you were born and when you had moved out of this existence. The dash is the here and now, what we are doing right now. We are sent here to this earth to learn, to grow, and how many years we spend here is irrelevant. What matters is how we spend those years, what we do with this time we have been given.

As the pastor was retelling memories that this woman created in her life, I was wondering what moments and feelings would be shared at my funeral. I hope that I am living in the moment of my relationships, the only things that produce ultimate meaning. What I have created, learned, and given within my relationships with others as well as myself will be what I carry with me to the life hereafter. Monetary items can create friction and playing the part of a consumer will not assist me in achieving the happiness that lies through the simplicity of relationships, which are complicated, but concentrating on their beauty is the simplicity. As I reflect on what will lead me to truth, I return always to family and friends, to my children, who move through creation, who are ignited through small movements that create phenomenal conclusions. Conclusions that this life is only a small part (albeit significant) of the entire plan, that we will be with our family eternally.