When my grandmother passed away I learned how to value life and view life differently; through the lens of celebratory reconciliation with regard to the difference between life and death.
My grandmother passed in front of myself and my mother. I watched her take her last breath and this forever instilled a fear of feeling as though I might suffocate. However, I also learned to view death as a reason to celebrate life and this came from the education the Hospice Worker provided during her dying days. She explained to me that Hospice viewed life as though we are in a chrysalis, a cocoon of sorts and once we die, we are able to fly; we are free. This analogy stayed with me throughout the past 18 years and at the time instilled an ongoing view and sense of purpose in understanding my existence. This is not to be confused with religious ideation, rather a spiritual ideation that has been helpful in creating a belief system that allowed for an assimilation of why we need pain in order to experience happiness. We just do. In order to exist, to co-exist and to grow.
We have to float, flutter, then fly. And it’s not easy. But we can do it.
Lisa Parani 