The Finale

There is a beginning and an end to all that is living and not living, aside from the Creator. This is not a profound statement or a revolutionary ideal; it is simply truth.

As a child, I knew that people were born and later they died. It is as simple as that. Of course, as humans, we inherently make it more intricate than the simple truth of that of which is born must also die. Thankfully, life and death are meant to be more than simple occurrences of biology; for if it is not to be more, then the span of time between the true extremes means nothing.

Within the past year, people who I have known and loved died. Before that, people who I knew and loved died. In the year to come and those that follow, people who I know and love will die. Indeed, I too will die.

Today, the eyes of a child are no longer present, albeit such simplicity has significance in death. Death is dramatic, exciting and liberating. Indeed the process to that simplistic state may be painful, grievous and horrific. But death is simple. It is the end of a complex existence after birth.

The reflection of the past with the promise of a hopeful eternality indeed is celebrated by what we call death. It is a beautiful, mournful and celebratory, and simple finale of biological life. The simplicity of death is a product of grace that the finale is indeed less complex than what led us to that state.

The Follower

During a solitary lunch one Sunday afternoon, I observed the actions of a family dining nearby. The father, a professor, his wife and his children, four boys and one girl, were contentedly finishing their meal as I sat down.

The boys, ages four to six with a set of twins, got up from the table and ascended the top of a small incline consisting of two steps. They repeatedly went to the top and jumped down, in perfect unison each time. After several jumps, the mother scolded the boys. They snickered and walked away.

The girl, perhaps age three, was observing the boys during their escapade. She climbed to the top of the steps just as her parents were leaving the table with the dishes. Completely unsupervised, the girl proceeds to jump. She falls on the first step. No tears, no attention. Instead, she stands, looks around to see if anyone saw her, presumably, and quickly massages her hind end. Then she repeats the aforementioned process for the second step.

Then the parents return and they are on their way. No one ever saw the girl; the parents were gone and the boys were busy being mischievous. Nonetheless, this three year old girl left lunch content with a smile that she had followed her brothers and succeeded where they had failed.

Of course, success is in the eye of the beholder, but being the follower does not mean you are not the leader, as this girl found out; it just means that you learn from the mistakes of the leader, follow them anyway, and become a humbled leader of your own.

The Opinion of Division

"The opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference." - Dr. Keith Phillips

In my family, there are many theological, sociological, economical and political views. The differences divide us in some areas, unite us in others and challenge us practically to move beyond idealistic concepts of thought to livable methods of application, whether or not there is agreement.

Division is a beautiful and crucial aspect of societal advancement. Likemindedness and communal beliefs are indeed vital for personal identity. However, shared thoughts rarely challenge anything beyond an egocentric world. It is in the difference of opinion where a challenge forces the abandonment, defense, strengthening or perseverance of opinion.

Fear undermines the lack of challenges sought. It is not a fear of competition, albeit it could be, but a fear of the non-egocentric reality that not all of creation views creation as the same reality.

The greatest danger of opinion is that dogma hinders meaningful conversation. These conversations, debates, challenges and disagreements do not find purpose through an egocentric idealism, but rather find beauty in the reality to understand the division of opinions, common ideologies and a unification through diversity.

Where there is diversity, there is also unity. In the Church we are united by the Lord, despite the differences that abound within and among us. In the world, we are united by humanity. If we are stuck in either without the consideration of another, we are doomed for we shall not grasp the beauty of all of creation and truly love our neighbors, our enemies and our own families.

Differences in opinion should not be penalized but rather explored to have an even greater appreciation for the diversity of creation, united in common threads and celebrated among likeminded friends.