I remember the first time I ever truly understood what death was. I was about five. I don’t know what triggered the understanding in me, but I was sitting on the front porch of the house crying. My parents came out on the porch and asked me why I was crying. I said that I didn’t want to die, they tried to console me by saying ” It’s Alright, You’re not going to die” I said I knew that, but I now also knew I would someday. My dad said something to me I thought was really extraordinary and I still remember to this day.
He said “You know Darryl how you look up at the stars at night? Did you know some of those stars are so far away it takes thousands of years for the light to get to where you can see it? And you can look up at night and see starlight from a star even though the star may have burned out a very long time ago because the starlight is so strong. Love is like that, and love is Life.” Even as a child I understood what he meant and it made me feel better. I hadn’t thought about that for a very long time, but I woke up this morning and it was fresh on my mind for some reason. Maybe someone needed it.
