It was a lot of fun to go to lunch in a huge fire engine! Those things command a great deal of respect. I can't imagine what it's like to drive one around town, trying not to hit people who don't pull over enough.
Today I saw an old man die.
The family seemed to be prepared for his passing and sent him off graciously after the paramedics administered all they could.
I tried very hard to feel sad about witnessing the end to someone's life, but the sorrow wasn't there. I felt badly for the family who had to prepare for a funeral, but the man who passed gave me no troubled thoughts. He is eternal. He has merely passed from one frame of existence into another. He has not ceased to be and will never cease to be. His soul is immortal.
Thinking this over, I was reminded of a quote shared during the EFY musical program this summer:
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere moral. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit...Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest thing presented to your senses."
-- C.S. Lewis
Today I watched a friendship die. Perhaps not forever -- but for now, it cannot thrive. What a sad sight. Hurt feelings and inappropriate or poor communications on both sides have squashed the life right out of this friendship. Speaking from a very mortal perspective, it is a small consolation that relationships with others are immortal as well. However, no man knows the future but we can all learn from the past.
It is cruel to exploit the weaknesses of others, no matter how gently or innocently done. For my inconsideration I am truly sorry.
As this sun sets I will close no doors, but make no promises. With my face to the East and the rising sun, I will carry a hope for more advantageous circumstances in the somedays of life.
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