What is life? Being the master of death I have always personally felt that to be alive was much more of an enigma than the finality of death. With life every moment can be an adventure. Every day can be a new experience and an ocean of change. A chance to unravel the intricasies of existence. A clean slate on a daily basis to improve. To make yourself a better person today than you were the day previously. I implore you. Do not squander this gift. My realm is overflowing with those who did. If there is one thing truly consistent besides death, it is regret. All the things left un-said. All the tasks left unaccomplished. My realm resounds with the wails of the woeful. Do not add to the mournful choir, choose to be better than those who came before you. Be the example you wish to see in the world.
I met a woman yesterday. She was sitting on a rock by a lake and I decided to present myself as a lost hiker. I approached her and queried. "What thoughts does one have by the still waters this day?"
She turned to me with a sorrowful smile. "Just thinking about my life and all the things I could have done differently, the chances I didn't take and the mistakes I've made."
I sat on an old moss covered log adjacent to her looking out over the placid water. "Yes, I have found so many with this particular ponderance of life. We spend so much time trying to survive life we forget to live it or understand the consequences of our actions, often it is only when we are still and the noise of the world fades momentarily do we have to face the beast lurking below."
She looked at me quizzically for a moment before turning her attention back to the waters. A soft breeze had begun to blow bringing a sweet and musty scent to the nose as if the pond itself were reminding us of the decay just below the waters and bushels of grass. "I suppose." she said looking deep into the glass like surface of the water before continuing. "I have lost so much, until now I was largely unaware of just how much was missing from my life. So many distractions......" She trailed off lost in thought as the light breeze briefly picked up before dying to an almost deathly stillness.
I looked her over and could see the sadness written across her face and the fading luminescence of her soul growing ever dimmer as the seconds toiled on. Although imperceptible to the human eye I knew all to well a life and will fading before me. It is the loss of hope and the resignation of the will to push through. I have seen countless humans terminate their existence in the land of the living when then are separated from the incessant march of white noise and distraction the world affords and at long last forced to sit alone in the silence and examine what they have referred to as life. It is a jarring awakening that some just cannot survive.
I lightly placed my hand on her shoulder causing her to shudder for a second before relaxing when she understood my intention was one of comfort. I waited a moment for her to turn and give me her attention before I spoke. "This is truly a new day for you then is it not?"
She looked at me now, her attention full and fixed on the features of my face. She opened her mouth as if to speak but then thought better of it, closing her mouth and continuing to stare into my eyes as if in a trance, her will was fading and I truly felt I would like to avoid her entrance to my realm so early on. I know I should allow nature to take its course but when I see the pain on a persons face I feel I can no longer just wait for the inevitable to happen if I may possess the power prevent it.
"This is a day of rebirth not death. The realization you have had here may feel like the loss of hope but it's not, I assure you. It is your souls way of telling you there is something missing, that the reality you thought you knew was a fabrication and the real one was just beneath it waiting to be discovered. The pain is just the birth pangs of a new life. Just as a bird must struggle to break free from the confines of the egg, you too are hatching and breaking free of the restraints you have placed on yourself and the chains society has placed on you. Rejoice for you are now free."
Several minutes passed. At first she stared into my eyes as if searching for truth, then she cast her eyes back across the water remaining silent. Her eyes began to dart back and forth across the scene before her and then I noticed the dimming of her soul began to stop and it began to grow in brilliance. The hope in her had been restored and was growing second by second and a smile of of joy and relief began to spread across her face. She turned to me again with question. "Who are you?"
I took my hand and again placed it on her shoulder trying my best to give her an encouraging look of reassurance. "I am the hand that guides you across the river Styx, but on this day I am the hand that pulls you away." and with that I left her to her peace, watching her from a distance as she skipped a few stones across the water before giving a slight chuckle to herself and walking off into the distance to begin her life anew.
I sat on an old moss covered log adjacent to her looking out over the placid water. "Yes, I have found so many with this particular ponderance of life. We spend so much time trying to survive life we forget to live it or understand the consequences of our actions, often it is only when we are still and the noise of the world fades momentarily do we have to face the beast lurking below."
She looked at me quizzically for a moment before turning her attention back to the waters. A soft breeze had begun to blow bringing a sweet and musty scent to the nose as if the pond itself were reminding us of the decay just below the waters and bushels of grass. "I suppose." she said looking deep into the glass like surface of the water before continuing. "I have lost so much, until now I was largely unaware of just how much was missing from my life. So many distractions......" She trailed off lost in thought as the light breeze briefly picked up before dying to an almost deathly stillness.
I looked her over and could see the sadness written across her face and the fading luminescence of her soul growing ever dimmer as the seconds toiled on. Although imperceptible to the human eye I knew all to well a life and will fading before me. It is the loss of hope and the resignation of the will to push through. I have seen countless humans terminate their existence in the land of the living when then are separated from the incessant march of white noise and distraction the world affords and at long last forced to sit alone in the silence and examine what they have referred to as life. It is a jarring awakening that some just cannot survive.
I lightly placed my hand on her shoulder causing her to shudder for a second before relaxing when she understood my intention was one of comfort. I waited a moment for her to turn and give me her attention before I spoke. "This is truly a new day for you then is it not?"
She looked at me now, her attention full and fixed on the features of my face. She opened her mouth as if to speak but then thought better of it, closing her mouth and continuing to stare into my eyes as if in a trance, her will was fading and I truly felt I would like to avoid her entrance to my realm so early on. I know I should allow nature to take its course but when I see the pain on a persons face I feel I can no longer just wait for the inevitable to happen if I may possess the power prevent it.
"This is a day of rebirth not death. The realization you have had here may feel like the loss of hope but it's not, I assure you. It is your souls way of telling you there is something missing, that the reality you thought you knew was a fabrication and the real one was just beneath it waiting to be discovered. The pain is just the birth pangs of a new life. Just as a bird must struggle to break free from the confines of the egg, you too are hatching and breaking free of the restraints you have placed on yourself and the chains society has placed on you. Rejoice for you are now free."
Several minutes passed. At first she stared into my eyes as if searching for truth, then she cast her eyes back across the water remaining silent. Her eyes began to dart back and forth across the scene before her and then I noticed the dimming of her soul began to stop and it began to grow in brilliance. The hope in her had been restored and was growing second by second and a smile of of joy and relief began to spread across her face. She turned to me again with question. "Who are you?"
I took my hand and again placed it on her shoulder trying my best to give her an encouraging look of reassurance. "I am the hand that guides you across the river Styx, but on this day I am the hand that pulls you away." and with that I left her to her peace, watching her from a distance as she skipped a few stones across the water before giving a slight chuckle to herself and walking off into the distance to begin her life anew.
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