Now, not to worry. I seem to be in good health. But with back-to- back weekends of death and dying: Being with Don Schaller’s family as they spread his ashes in Truckee, then the memorial for Robert Fish at our home, I’m thinking a lot about the end.
When I think of my own death, I want simplicity. No big deal. It is over. Pebble in the water. Ripples. Then smooth. No meaning. A few people will cry for a few weeks and move on. As it should be. The giant redwood dies off so the sapling can grow.
Here is my epitaph (assuming I die in 2017):
Rick Gilbert:
1939 Beginning
A-wop-bop-a-loo-mop, a-lop-bam-boom!
2017 End
…and there you have it. Time to move on.
Hi Rick,
I hope this is not on an open forum, as it is meant for you. Can you think/meditate in three dimensions, I-other-God, I-redwood tree-the Holy? Your suffering may be very important for you, conforming to Christ’s Passion, Buddha’s parinirvana. You sound confident & certain. Are you? Will keep you in prayer. Suggestion: read FALLING UPWARD; CLOUD OF UNKNOWING. My guess is California ash spreading is two dimensional (ripples). I imagine Fish and Schaller’s event in secret hearts wasn’t flat. Was it?
HI Rick,
I waved at Redwood City on my way back to SD after 3 weeks in Petaluma and SF welcoming a new grandchild, baby girl.
I’m actually in the process of rearranging my legal affairs for succession IF I become ill from a long term disability such as any of the dementias, ALS, Parkinson’s etc. That prospect frightens me more than the blessed relief brought by a "good death".although I guess I respect Steven Hawking’s determination to live beyond most with ALS.. Having lost 3 family members to various cancers in the last 5 years and seen countless more die after a 34 year career as a hospital social worker, I’m glad my family members ashes are interred or scattered where I can visit them. I’ve instructed my daughter to scatter mine down Strawberry Creek in the Berkeley Rose Garden.
I rather like the philosophy expressed in the poem that begins: "Birth is a beginning , And Death is a destination and Life is a journey"……
Glad you are blogging, finding interesting things to share and explore visually. Knee surgery is my next project!!!!
Pat