Robert Louis Stevenson wrote: “the best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things of life.”

I don’t know about you, but lately I have been mulling over my own thoughts. So many relatives and friends have “fallen asleep.”

We see the empty church pews. The empty chairs at home. We all feel awe at the moments surrounding death.

As we allow the world to touch us deeply, we recognize that just as there is pain in our lives, so there is pain in other’s lives. We realize that suffering is inevitable.

We all need time and space to heal, grow and understand. To have courage for the great sorrows of life. To touch all things with compassion. Help to follow a course that communicates compassion and caring.

Death is not a simple event. All people taste the mystery of death. We are born to die.

Death is the most certain event in our lives. Issues of death and dying are often center to the older person’s life and learning to deal with these challenges can be a major concern. People wonder, how much more time; they begin to think about how long they have left to lived rather than how long they have lived.

Studies show that the majority of people adjust and accept quite well, the concept of death. A personal sense of death cannot be denied or avoided. People die. Death can be a matter-of-fact acceptance rather than negative fears and worries. It can lead to greater respect and attention to one’s physical health.

Someone you care about may be very sick, perhaps dying. Coping with terminal illness is all consuming and creeps into every corner of life.

It is exhausting, emotional and unwanted. It affects family members, friends, neighbors and all the relationships in the life of the dying. It is very hard accepting that someone we care about is dying.

We ask, “What can I do to help? How can this be happening? What does it feel like to die?”

We all need time and space to heal, grow and understand. We need to have courage for the great sorrows of life. We need a gentle way to think about the unthinkable. All people taste the mystery of death.

We are born to die. Death is the most certain event in our life. This makes us think seriously about our own death, that it could happen anytime.

Are you afraid of dying or afraid of the unknown? We reach out in love and enter the suffering world of others.

We need a gentle way to think about the unthinkable. This is about love and lost, and grief and growth. The dead will never be forgotten.

Memories may become more bearable with thankfulness for the happy times shared. When I climb into bed at night my thoughts travel to all my grieving friends. We have lost so many loved ones. I like to think that we will meet again!