Life and Death

I have been reflecting on the past, some, over the past several days.  To be fair, baseball season began, and that was something that I did a lot with the person to whom I was engaged.  And, this weekend is the floral event at the local museum, which I also did with her.  Things like that are bound to trigger old memories, just as I see memories of thing I did with my kids when I do all kinds of things all around town.  It doesn't mean that I have to tie those things to that person.  Indeed, I did both of those things BEFORE I ever knew her, also.  That was just the last year of doing them, so it brought forth those memories.  However, the only way to get past that is to keep experiencing those things to build new experiences at those places, again.

However, between that and the significance of this weekend, there has been a lot of philosophical and emotional processing that is happening.  Why this weekend?  Really... it's metaphorical.  This is Easter weekend, so as per tradition (adopted from Pagan traditions but I'll let that go for now) today is the day that Jesus died, and Sunday is the day that is used to celebrate his resurrection into new life.  It's not 3 literal 24 hour periods, yet the church calls it three days... but.. I'll let that go, too.  As per tradition, this is the day of death of the past, and Sunday is the day of birth of new life.  I'm gonna go ahead and jump forward towards the new life, as the Full Moon cycle has already begun for this year and month, which is significant of new birth and growth.

There is a phrase that I heard many years ago, and I hated it when I heard it.  However, later, I would come to accept that it was important.  Today, I heard a co worker say the same thing.. they hated it, but it was true.  The phrase, which is also echoed in We Bought a Zoo (amazing movie) is that it is that it is.. or it isn't that it isn't.  Put a pin in that for a minute.

A long time ago, I was working through a personal philosophy that was meant to tie together science and religion.  In it, I was very focused in one part of it with the definition of life and death.  Life.. I said... was activity.  Atoms were alive, as they were moving.  Something that was dead had less activity in its molecules and less electrical signals in its brains.  Activity was life.  Less activity was more towards death, which was a spectrum of life and death, based on activity.  In that viewpoint, if something had no activity, it was dead.  Indeed, religion echos this.  James in his epistle says that "faith without works is dead."  You had to have activity for something to truly exist.

I say all of that to say this.  If there is no activity from past things.. no one reaching out... no one making an effort.. whether that be relationships, family, friends, or more.. then those connections are dead.  If there was new activity, it could be new life, but the past life is dead, and why spend your time focused on death, when you are alive and have the potential to create new life around you.

Indeed, as we enter into Easter weekend, I am less interested in acknowledging past faults, which I already do in order to grow, not to gain absolution from guilt, than I am in looking forward to the potential that exists in new life that can exist.  It is time for my stone to roll away, and it is time that I come out into the light, like Jesus or the citizens of the City of Ember.  

Life is ahead of you, or as the main character says in Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporiam (a wonderful movie), "your life is an occasion.  Rise to it."