Carpe Diem

Death is something which will touch us all at some point in our lives. Death at any age is a difficult concept to grasp and is the most terrifying thing in the world for the majority of us. Life is precious and many of us take it for granted. However, when a tragic event such as the death of a young person occurs we are instantly hurled into a whirlwind of feelings and thoughts. 

When we hear about the death of a young person or we lose a young person close to us it seems to provide us with a thirst for life, to enjoy the many experience which life holds, to see all the wonders this earth has to offer, to be the best we can achieve and to somehow live life to the fullest. I have come to find that death has this effect on us for two reasons; the first is that we desperately want to experience everything because the death of a young person makes us realise that nobody is beyond the cold, hard grasp of death's hand, the second is that we feel a sort of responsibility to live all of the experiences that our fellow  young adult has been denied because of the ominous death. 

Death also makes us appreciate our family and friends so much more also. We can often take them for granted and do not realise how important they are until we see another family cry for a loved one who has passed away, This feeling is never more terrifying than when you are a young person because you are still so close to your parents, often when a young person dies they are still living with their parents and seeing a mother cry for her lost child is a feeling which we instantly project onto our own mothers further intensifying our sensitivity to this tragic event. 

I did not write this to be morbid or indeed to point out all the sadness which goes hand in hand with death but merely to express the feelings of many many young hearts in my home town where two young lives were taken far before their time this weekend. 

Life is beautiful and we should enjoy to the full as much as we can, the sadness and other such emotions when will accompany us on our path through life will try to taint this beauty but in its attempt will further fuel us to make the most of everyday, every experience, and most importantly our family and friends.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

D.M