Who ever is interested in life is particularly interested in death.
—Thomas Mann—
In this biological world we can see clearly that death is a stage in the life cycle. In our human case, we cling to the precious consciousness that seem to set us apart from the rest of the natural world,
and we see death with different eyes—as an ending, often cruel, and sometimes unendurable. We do ourselves no service to make an enemy of death; it is a presence within our life, and by denying it, we deny a part of ourselves. Our deep knowledge includes knowledge of death. To experience loss and to grieve it are the great common human experiences, and to deny them is to make ourselves less human. We live in a beautifully balanced system in which death is a part of everything that lives. The pain of our personal loss is ours;within the greater whole, nothing is lost.Perhaps it is too much to say that we will ever understand death; the fruit of time and pain and healing is what we will come to accept. Let me open myself to the knowledge of wisdom, to which death belongs in equal measure with life.