CERTAINTIES IN LIFE: DEATH & TAXES?
You and I both know that death is a certainty. But are taxes certain? I’m tempted to say no because people do succeed in evading taxes, at least till they are caught! And when they are caught they pay heavily, possibly incarcerated. In summary therefore, taxes are just as certain death is. And yet are we prepared for when the time comes?
Death is scary. I refuse to say otherwise. The idea of a loved one dead is even more terrifying. Forgive me if this scares you but I just wonder sometimes…. Alive one minute and aware that you are (known); dead the next and unaware that you are (unknown). There’s some comfort in the unknown, since when you die you don’t realize your dead! But what happens to those left behind that know you’re gone? How do they handle the grief? How do they live with the regrets of unfinished acts of kindness, unsaid words of passion, unsung words of praise and untold stories of friendship? How do they move on? A thought on the theme of death and taxes is Margaret Mitchell's line from her book Gone With the Wind, 1936: "Death, taxes and childbirth! There's never any convenient time for any of them." This is so true! When can death ever be convenient? Or taxes, or childbirth? (Not to discredit childbearing considering it’s a gift from God) It’s not about convenience but about necessities and inevitability's, so to speak. It’s unavoidable. Depending on how you’d like to think of it, death can be likened to a half full or half empty glass; peace or trouble. It can be a blessing to those in pain and need of comfort or to those in need of freedom from oppression in the hands of the wicked (when the wicked perish there are shouts of joy Proverbs 11:10), there’s no escaping it.
So how do we deal with this enemy since we can’t avoid it? By living right now that we know we have life. La Vita Nuova (The New Life)! Live a new life now doing the things that matter the most. Laugh, love, give, play, sing, pray, speak etc. Show the people you love how much you love them, through words, acts, speech; whatever expresses love, do this. Life is short, Caper Diem (seize the day). Love like your life depends on it and live like it’s your last day on earth.
For as right as rain is; so is death as certain.
Tuyo por siempre,
Chinny
Well written peice. I have few food for thoughts though...Just as you compared death to a "half full glass or half empty glass", in like manner i ask, is death - to you (you here being both the writer and reader alike)- an "Exit" or an "Entrance"? Your answer to this question and a full understanding of the implications of that answer will help you place your self on what i would like to call "the preparedness chart of God"... where 1 is least prepared and 10 is most prepared at the sound of the trumpet (or death, which ever comes first).
ReplyDelete"....for those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity..."
The Holy Bible - John 12:25
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ReplyDeleteHmmmmm..Miana, well said! You couldn't have summed this up any better. Indeed, is death an exit or entrance? To answer that i'd say both. An exit to the travails of this world, and an entrance to the promises of la vita nuova. Nonetheless to achieve both the exit and entrance, we must measure our performance like you said on "the preparedness chart of God".
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