I recently overheard two people talking about an elderly friend of theirs who had recently died. The first expressed regret, saying how sad she was to hear the bad news. The second responded by saying, “Oh, don’t be upset, she had a long and good life. She always had the best of everything. You don’t need to feel sorry for her dying!”.

You may have heard people respond in a similar way. Perhaps even you think this way. If you do, WHY?

To me, every single life is precious. The loss of any life creates an instant blank spot in the whole saga of humanity. There never has been and there never will be another human being created just like them!

And, if someone you know dies—even if they are very elderly—in the blink of an eye something has been taken from your life personally, something that you have previously been able to reach out and to touch, and to hug, and maybe even to hold, and now it—they, are gone forever. Yes, their memory remains, but you don’t need to rationalize their disappearance! If you cared at all about that person, then it is perfectly normal—and I’ll dare to say it’s completely “sane” to feel the loss of their presence in your life!

A loss, YES, but at least never forgotten.

T.