breeze

Illustrations © Barbara J Holzapfel

When I first moved from my home and family on the west coast of Canada to this small prairie town I thought about the time and closeness I would miss with my loved ones living so far away. In committing to the move I was comforted that an international airport was a mere 40 minutes from my new home, assuring my presence in times of emergencies and special occasions.

That mental journey led me to counting the number of significant but often unnoticed events I could potentially expect to experience in my lifetime. How many springs. How many falls. The process certainly illuminated how brief one soul's stay is on this earth, even with the most optimistic projections.

These benchmarks, usually highlighting events like the beginning of another school year, or the birth of our first child, become the gems we collect throughout this treasure hunt we call life. Unfortunately, due to the unhealthy impulse sewn into the fabric of our society to turn away from the inevitability of our own death, when the reality hits us that we have limited time left to live there's often too few gems left to fully experience.


How would the gentle breeze harkening an early spring feel different to one who completely accepted and was at peace with the reality that death may come at any moment, or to one who is told it will be the last spring in this lifetime?