Another funeral within a month. The ceremony carries tones of deep grief and longing. Many have gathered to honor the one who's passed away—people close to each other and some total strangers. Most have arrived from nearby. A few have journeyed a great distance to be there at the moment of farewell. Despite differences, the ceremony and ambiance of grief unite everyone present. No division of any kind is observable. A subtle yet powerful sense of unity prevails.
The longer one lives, the more one is prone to experience death. This curiously reverse idea holds within profound wisdom. The fiercely graceful inevitability of life—the dance of appearance and disappearance—becomes more evident every day. The function of a flower is to emerge from the black soil, reveal its beauty to those available to it, and wither when its time comes. Correspondingly, the part of a human being is to grow, sparkle for a short moment, and then disappear into the slowly fading memories of those longing and grieving. Eventually, not even memories remain. Yet, evidence of the existence of every single being is scattered all around. One just has to look through the correct perspective. Death, no matter how devastating it might feel, does not represent the end. Birth, even though it harbors much discomfort in the process, does not represent a beginning. Birth and death are simply labels created by the painfully small aperture of the human mind.
Labeling anything and clinging to those labels is a profound misunderstanding about existence. Things are never what thoughts describe—everything holds the unseen potential to change and create myriads of experiences. Through a snowflake, transparent air represents immense uniqueness and complexity. Through a flower, seemingly lifeless soil displays a beautiful dance of forms and colors. Through a diamond, a black lump of coal shines in crystalline reflections. Through tears shed for those who passed away, grief whispers silent words of solace and healing.
Grief, even though excruciatingly deep sometimes, is just a stage in a miraculous process of transformation. Where is this process coming from, and where is it going to? The question is obviously and utterly unessential. The essential perspective of the transformation is that it's happening here and now. Transformation of life is expressed in the heart of the present moment, in the loving presence of those witnessing it.
