October 30, 2007
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the living, breathing, thinking
Driving through the county the other night, I thought about my friend Daniel who passed away a few weeks ago. And then I thought about my uncle who passed away a few months ago. And then I thought about my best friend Julie who passed away a few years ago. There’s just something so strange about knowing – just knowing – that this someone you remember talking to just so recently is no longer walking around on this earth. You’re still walking around, breathing, thinking, feeling and doing all these normal life things — and they are not.
During the crazyness of the fire last week, I noticed that everyone had a different response to the emergency situation. Some people hang on for as long as possible, waiting til the very last moment when they have to evacuate. And some people run for their lives even when they were not called on to evacuate. My mom told me that my cousin’s friend’s dad decided to stay with his home in Ramona to save their house. They couldn’t get fire insurance after having already lost their home to a fire years ago, and so he felt that he had to save his house. Sadly, so sadly, he was unable to save his home — or himself. He perished with his house.
When we heard about the raging fires early Monday morning, I immediately started packing. Funny, what we ended up packing was mostly the basic necessities: food and clothes. I didn’t pack any of my books, our guitars (whoops on that one), TV, stereo or anything like that. None of those things seemed very important. I didn’t really care if our house burned down — just that we were all alive, that’s all.
Times like this remind me why we’ve chosen not to invest in expensive things. Because when it really comes down to it, those things don’t matter at all. It’s the living, breathing, thinking and feeling that’s priceless — and beyond that, the eternal living in the presence of the Almighty. We really have it all, don’t we, and this “all” is not contingent upon anything in the world.
Comments (2)
im glad you’re ok. miss you!
i couldn’t agree with you more. i was surprised at how little we really *need*. all the material things can perish in an instant! it’s our relationships with people that gives life meaning and fulfillment.