Many in this life are confused about where they’re going. They don’t know what their true destination is, or even how they plan to get there. A lot of people consider their future as their career; maybe a family. But no matter what it is they think they are going to end up doing, everyone is going to finish in the same place: the grave. That may be morbid, but it is the truth. Eventually, everyone finds their body’s last resting place as a box of wood, buried six feet under.
When we are young, we think nothing of death. We have no knowledge of the subject. As we mature, we might experience the death of a loved one, whether it is a family member, friend, or pet. It is then that we start to understand death. But our comprehension only extends so far. We see now that creatures are susceptible to this concept of “death”, although we never think of ourselves as succumbing to this same fate. We feel we are invincible. As time passes and we mature into our teens, we realize that life is not fair at all, and many unexpected things happen. We are exposed to more death and violence than we could have ever imagined in our early childhood. We now understand that we are going to eventually die. But still, as adolescents, we act foolishly, with a sense of bravado that most adults have lost. Many teenagers go through difficult times, finding that life is inexplicable, and if they are to survive it, they must fight for themselves and form their own opinions. Still, as we move into early adulthood, we begin to realize that we don’t have to rebel against everyone older than us. We see now that by listening to our elders we can actually gain useful information. But we have not yet experienced enough of life to truthfully say we understand death. In middle age, we begin to look forward, into a more complex future than just the next day. We begin to live by the year, instead of the hour; understanding consequences, and the reactions of our actions. But only as we finally reach old-age can we know how our life has faired. We begin to reminisce on the “good ol’ days.” Close, now, are we to our final destination. Ominous foreboding looms the reality that any day Death is waiting to carry us off in his black hearse. Only now, do we realize what our parents and grandparents were really trying to teach us in our youth. We understand, after centuries of walking this earth, that no one is immune to the cycle of life and death. We are, after all, only human.
Finally, the day that we have accepted as our fate has come. No one is sure just what it is that happens once we die, where our soul goes. Many are afraid to step through this impressive doorway, but everyone eventually must make the choice, what little choice they have. Some people view death as a step closer to being with our Lord. Others feel there is nothingness after death, that it is just a black void where there is no consciousness. Still others believe in the reincarnation of the spirit, and life is an everlasting circle. But no matter who you are, race, creed, or color, we all eventually take that final step out of this life and into the next beyond.
But a Good bye is only the beginning. To have life everlasting, first we must take that fateful step. From there, we shall all meet again, hopefully for everyone, at heaven’s gates. Good bye is not the end but is only the point from which we start.
This is not a true Works Cited, but I just wanted to say where I got the excerpts from. All the bits and pieces of stories and poems that appear in this essay were taken from works I have written. Here are the titles in the order they appear in this essay:
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