I was watching an animated samurai drama late last night after returning from work, in which the samurai hero admonishes a woman comrade for wishing to die. “I can’t stand anyone who takes life so cheaply,” he snarls before turning his back on her and walking away.
It got me thinking. Look outside and life takes on a myriad of forms. Like probing fingers it pushes into every possible mold to form itself. We like to think of ourselves as somehow unique and God-chosen, but really we are just another expression of all that is dancing around us. Like notes in a cosmic opera.
And the spark that sustains the breath of the marionette in each creature can be snuffed out like… THAT! All it takes is a little pair of scissors.
I think that samurai was right. He wasn’t being arrogant or macho. He wanted someone he cared about to value the precious gift of living. It is the most precious gift we have in the world. Every day we should take a moment to reflect on this. To stand still and acknowledge that the heart is beating. To look out the window and remember that you hold something flickering within that allows you to partake of the light of the rising sun without. To recognize the flickering flame of life in every creature around you, no matter how big or small. To dare to nod to the eventuality that the flame will extinguish, and that it is all right. Rejoice in the brief moments we have! So brief, so beautiful and exquisite, so rare.
Laughing Knees 