I've been very lucky in that aside from my grandmother, I haven't had to endure losing anyone in my family that was close to me. However, a week ago, a neighbor passed away quietly without anyone knowing.
It took about a week before anyone missed him as he was alone when it happened. I only knew him in passing due to the volunteer work that I do here, and had just recently found out that this relatively young man had cancer.
Both of them tried to keep their illnesses under wraps, and were the type who wouldn't want to burden others and cause them to worry. I last spoke to the latest guy Monday June 24th, as he marveled over the colors of some new tech gadgets that I'd just bought.
That was the last I saw him.
I recall how surprised I was when I learned about his health problems as he looked so vital on the outside while he was suffering on the inside.
Some people think that he knew the end was near, and in our last conversation we talked about the first guy who had passed. I shared with him what I told the other guy about what my relatives learned from patients who'd had near-death experiences, and that I had no doubt that there was something else beyond this life.
I shared the sequence of events that they reported, and my absolute belief in God. He asked me what made me certain that there is a higher power, and I told him that the proof was all around us.
The very planet that we're standing on. The Moon, the Sun and the other stars in the heavens, in fact, the Universe itself bore witness to the fact that only a God could create something out of nothing.
I went over all of the facts that there were too many coincidences involved in the creation of Earth itself, for their not to be intelligent design involved.
We're in the perfect spot for life to thrive. A little closer to the Sun and we roast like Venus. A little farther away, and we freeze like Mars. Without the Moon, no tides. We're the perfect size as well, if we were as large as a giant exoplanet, it would be torture just to move around due to the heightened effects of gravity weighing us down.
The footprint of God, so to speak.
The atmosphere, the spacing of the continents and the tilting of Earth itself all combine into a delicious stew that keeps us all breathing the breath of life that God breathes into us at birth.
He seemed to find some solace in that, and I hope it brought him peace when he transitioned to the other side. Life is precious, and the witness to that is the effect he had on the people that he touched each and every day. Don't take anything for granted, and live life to the fullest.
Sorry to hear about their passing. It is a shock when you hear about people passing that you have just spoken to not long before. Especially when they seemed okay. It is good that you were able to bring a little solace to them hopefully before they transitioned. You are a good person.
Thanks for the compliment. I had planned to go out, but a feeling came over me to stay home that day, and I'm so glad I got the chance to talk to him. His passing was so unexpected, and I didn't find out he had cancer until January of this year. He was way too young to pass and didn't look ill at all. I foun d out from his friend after he passed that he was dealing with kidney disease as well, and went to dialysis several times a week. He was a good guy and is in a better place and no longer in pain.
Life is fleeting indeed. We are born and then we die. Best to make sure you're using every moment to create an impact on your life and others lives too.
God is no doubt a real thing even though it might not be the way we might've imagined him to be. We all have our fantasies about the higher power but I belive since we humans ourselves exist then there must be a great being that's superior to every other being.
Thanks for your thoughts, but I have to be honest about something (so please don't be offended).
I hope you're real. I really, really, really hope you're a real flesh-and-blood person writing these posts and comments. I think you are, but these days with the advent of AI and ChatGPT, who the hell knows?
It would just be my luck to be responding to a "project" account set up to test the concept of improving AI to the point that no one couild tell the difference. I've been checking your page out for a bit and love the black-and-white photos that "you" use, and I like the writing as well. I like the wordplay in your title 'Pay Attention Or Be At-Tension' (nicely done). God I hope you're not a bot, as I like your writing. Please be real. :)