The Immortal

"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." -Albert Pike

Every now and then, someone you love so much that it aches, dies.

That's the emotional cost of living. The amount of pain you experience while grieving a death is directly reflective of the amount of love you've given. That love goes on forever, and achieves what so many alchemists seek tirelessly by confounding it with one simple action. Immortality.

I mentioned that I believe in reincarnation, and I do, but I think there are many forms of a life that go on forever. Little pieces in the wind. Memories among fallen leaves. Bits of spirit here and there. Re-inhabitation. I know there are pieces gone from me, leaving this little void that continues to scar each time it's reopened. I gave them away at immeasurable cost. You can feel the pieces when you walk through graveyards. The earth is swollen  with memory and spirit.

Without the void we experience when we lose a loved one, we cannot appreciate being alive. Some deaths are spent in offering to a cause, some are given to teach others lessons (such as the importance of screening for cancer or driving the speed limit), some are simply because we must die. No rhyme or poetic reason; we must die. It is how we choose to live our lives that dictates the meaning others will take from it. Love is what keeps us together, really. It is the path by which we are connected to the past, our present, and the future. It's largely the reason we haven't imploded already. Things will keep on turning; the wheel will continue spinning on it's course and each time we absorb its lessons. It's a beautiful existence.

Knowing this, though, I have to honor the void. Time heals, but there are some things you are never truly over. You only learn to cope and forgive yourself for failing to control the tears when they happen. It was a gift of pure love that transcends death. It raises them up, even if it did not transpire so easily when they were living. There are always things left unsaid that stay in the void. Doubts stay in the void.

In the healing process, though, we find life growing that renews us and allows us to transmit the legacy of those we have lost. We have inherited the earth through them and are learning to transmit it to the coming generations. Death holds us responsible. It is for this reason I give such honor to my ancestors, regardless of their occupation or even species.

And dammit all, Georgette. I miss you every day.