Day Six...

Today's is a real doozy. If I was on my deathbed, what message/messages would I try to impart to my friends and family before leaving this plane?

I'm not sure why this is a topic on positive blogging week. Although death isn't negative, per se (after all, we are essentially working towards death all our lives,in aneffort to get through this plane to the next REAL existence), and doesn't have to be relegated to the the corners of our psyche, it still tends to evoke sad and yearning feelings within us.

In any event, this is the topic, so let's take a look...

The truth is, I have no idea what I would say.

There are several problems. 1) Whatever I say is dependent on the dynamics of the relationship I have with each individual family member. I don't want to write some generic platitude that serves as a overall statement. It has to be appropriate to each individual, tailored for that person alone. 2) I certainly hope that I won't have wasted my time as a parent/grandparent/mentor/friend not telling them what I think is important for them to know. Why wait until the "last minute" in a literal sense when I have a daily opportunity to teach by example?

In any event, there is one thing I would definitely say, and it's something I got from my great-grandfather, H"YD. This is a lesson that's been repeated over and over in my life, and remains as relevant as ever:

When my grandmother's family was brought to one of the concentration camps, she and her sister (my great aunt) were separated from the rest of the family. Frantic, they tried making it through the crowds, desparately clinging to each other, searching for the rest of their family.

At one point, they found a clearing near a fence, and stopped or a moment. My great-grandfather appeared on the other side of the fence, which served as the separation between men and women.

The last thing he said to them was "Love each other! No matter what, you have to always love each other!"

I think that would resonate with anyone, but it is an important lesson. We let all the petty things get in our way, and sometimes we don't express our love for each other. We can even be led to believe that we hate someone, because we forget about who that person really is, and who we are.

"Love each other! No matter what, you have to always love each other!"