The Soul

I have an acquaintance at work, and we have known each other for the longest time. It’s been so long I can’t even remember how we met. A few years ago we found that we have a mutual friend who was more an acquaintance to me that she was to her. We always found common ground when it came to our mutual friend and when we would run into each other in the ladies room or in the break room usually we were able to talk about something other than the weather. Our mutual friend died about 8 months ago and yesterday when I ran into my co-worker I was just about to ask how so and so was before I suddenly remembered so and so wasn’t around any longer. I kind of didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything but just smiled, nodded, and walked away.

Death has a way of coming down and plucking someone from our lives like someone flicking a bug off their shirt. One minute that person is there, and the next minute they’re gone. I guess I am lucky so far as I have not had that many people close to me die, so I have not experienced that bone crushing grief that I imagine others feel when they lose a loved one. I had a boyfriend who found out he had liver cancer and was not expected to live long after we broke up. I think about him from time to time, but we were not involved any longer when he got sick, so that’s different. I can’t imagine how I will feel when my husband dies, and my parent’s loss I think would feel different. I can’t fathom how I would feel if my son died. I have a good friend who lost a child a few years back. That experience change her and I feel funny talking about my son as our children were around the same age.

People believe different things about death. I recently read a book about souls and reincarnation called Journey of Souls by Michael Newton. I made a lot of sense to me and really helped me deal with my own death. It doesn’t help lessen the grief associated with the loss of a loved one, but to believe that you will be a part of that spiritual circle for eternity helps somewhat, in my opinion. More so it helped me understand that we are all here for a reason and it is important to live your life knowing that you are here to learn and experience things to help you grow as a soul. It made the point that what you do in this lifetime affects what your next life will be, and understanding can help with your direction and life decisions.