There's been a lot of deaths recently. My father's dear friend, Roger died a few weeks ago. The pictures below were taken during a bonfire in the hollow in his honor. A few days after this, my uncle Jim died. That same day his family's dog was put down as well as our dog Preacher...
Anyone who knows me knows i'm uber emotional. I don't handle death gracefully and i become suddenly very scared that the people i love the most are going to be next. I feel extreme remorse for having taken them for granted in any way... of course that only lasts about a month and suddenly i'm back living life day-to-day... because truthfully, i don't think we're capable of actually cherishing every moment or living life as though any of us could go at any moment.
In Buddhism, enlightenment can only be reached if we let go of our attachments. This is probably the most daunting idea to me. I am not particularly materialistic (as any of you have witnessed in my tiny house, and heard me ranting about the constant "Crap Control"). But my attachments to people seem hardwired in me. I do not know how to let go of these people, to accept that they will too leave me some day or i them (though in someways me leaving first seems so much more easy)... However, despite my immediate revulsion in the idea of detaching myself from these beautiful, amazing, inspiring, sometimes infuriating people; I can see that in order to avoid suffering (especially when they die) one would have to detach...
all that said, i'm fairly certain i will never reach enlightenment in this life... however, i believe i've already obtained enrichment... these people enrich my life beyond measure...
