Death and A Baby Shower

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And though you gotta go, we'll keep a piece of your soul/    One goes out/    One comes in”

-Jack Johnson, “If I could”

At the beginning of the week, these were the lyrics that could not escape my mind. When a song plays over and over in my head, I try to figure out why. Sometimes it’s just because the tune or lyrics are catchy and easy to remember. But sometimes it’s something else. Sometimes when I look up the lyrics to a song I’m thinking about, I realize that the lyrics directly relate to the emotions that I am feeling at that time. I find it interesting because I often do not consciously hear or remember the lyrics to these songs, but this means that the information must register on some subconscious level.

At the beginning of the week, I had plans to go to Florida for my friend Robby’s baby shower. I assumed I was relating to the song because the first line talks about birth. It seemed obvious. But then it got a little bit weird. As I was preparing for my trip to Florida, I found out that my friend Kieran’s mom had died, and the wake was on the Friday morning before my flight. The last two lines of the song played in my head as a chill ran down my spine. One goes out. One comes in. Maybe you could say it was a coincidence. But I can’t help to wonder if more information registers on a subconscious level than we realize.

Either way, I certainly found it strange. On the same day, I was preparing myself for two opposite events.

The first was a wake. I was feeling sad for the loss of my friend’s mom. Even though I had only met her a few times, I was shaken. I always am when someone I know passes away. Death is so unknown and unpredictable. I can’t imagine how Kieran was feeling. He’s a marine. He was there in uniform looking strong, calm, and composed. But as an old saying goes, sometimes the biggest smiles hide the most pain. You never know exactly what another person is feeling. All you can do is show your Love and support. After giving my condolences, I knelt down at the casket and I said a prayer for his mother’s soul. I said a prayer for the family. May Peace, Love, and Light be with them.

The second was a baby shower. I was feeling excited for the birth of my friend’s daughter. She’ll be a citizen of the Earth in less than a month. But to be honest, I was feeling more excited to see Robby. When we were teenagers, Robby and I were inseparable. We were basically brothers. We hung out every day and had sleepovers on weeknights. It was a beautiful friendship until the two of us became addicted to recreationally using prescription painkillers. I spiraled into self-destruction for about six months. I was lucky to emerge from that darkness. It suffocated Robby for almost six years. I thought he was going to die. When I looked into his eyes, I could not see the person I called brother. I saw only the drugs. It’s a miracle that he’s been clean for over a year now. It was amazing to finally re-connect with him. To realize that my brother is alive. That he has not only redeemed his own life, but is bringing a new one into the world as well. May Peace, Love, and Light be with them.

This week, let’s meditate on Life and Death. They can be heavy topics, but we need to think about them. It’s healthy to question who and what you are every once in a while. Think about your life. Your friend's lives. Your family's lives. The lives you know nothing about. Think about birth. Think about what it means to be a human being. Think about death. Your death. The death of a loved one. The death of a stranger. The death of a terrorist. Think about War and Peace. Think about the history of humanity and ask yourself what we’ve been doing here? What are we living and dying for? What are we creating here? People may have different answers. People may not know the answers at all. But what is important, is that we ask the questions. 

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