We Are Simply Passing Through

We have all heard the phrase "life is short" and while we may try to avoid or subvert this saying, it is simply the truth. Regardless of how long or short a particular life of a human being may be, it remains relatively short when we consider the history of the world from the time of its inception. In the best case scenario, the brevity of life (and the astonishing ways in which it begins and ends) has the capacity to draw the best out of us. The acknowledgement of our certain death helps us to be more mindful of our own life and the life of those around us. If taken into account (and reckoned with), it helps us not to waste time with the things that do not ultimately matter...to put aside all that is trivial and superficial. I love the Renaissance-period paintings of the monks transcribing the scriptures with a human skull placed before them on the desk. It is there to remind them of their mortality: hopefully it also reminds us of ours. In Grace and Peace....