On Death and Dying

This is a topic we have been covering in one of my classes this week. In class today we watched Tuesdays With Morrie. I read the book years ago, but I had yet to see the film until today. Since reading the book I have experienced the death of my sister, so the story line felt much more personal this time around. I found myself relating to so much of the content on a much deeper level than I had years ago when reading the book. I reminisced. I felt joy, sorrow, grief, courage, and peace. My relationship with my sister was revisited, but more than that were the days following her death. I found myself wishing I was back home sitting on her grave. I remembered the days I would go there and cry. I would close my eyes and feel the wind and sunlight on my face. I allowed God to hold me.
Once again I experienced a sense of enlightenment as I viewed my life. I became aware of the many ways I become consumed by things in life that are not true to my sense of self and my priorities. So often I find myself waiting for that next adrenaline rush, that next exciting event, or sometimes even that next crisis. I can become so absorbed by these things that I am not fully living in the present. I felt like coming home and riding bikes with my children to the park. I imagined feeling that peace once again as I push my son in a swing and share laughter with my daughter. I was reminded of relationship. Those familiar feelings of longing and desire for quality time with those I love. Sometimes I long for it so deeply that I forget it's right here in my home. When this happens I begin searching elsewhere for it, slightly oblivious to the fact that my own children are crying out for it as well. If we look at what we have right here, right now, can we learn to love ourselves, our children, our family, and our own lives in a way that brings us that much closer to being true to ourselves? What kind of example would that set for those looking on?