Saturday, August 29, 2009

Nice people dying

The past few days were filled with coverage of the funeral of Ted Kennedy and people sharing memories about him. What a wonderful person he was. As I listened to the huge array of areas in which he made a difference, in small and in big ways, I joined the multitude of people who hadn't met him personally yet felt sad about his passing.
But then I thought - Passing. Going through a place and continuing. What an interesting word. Actually, it's not when the person disappears that he passes. Rather we need to think of the life as passing. Now - what mark are we making as we pass through this life, this planet? It's not a surprise when the ride is over, to say oh!? he passed!!?!
He was passing his whole life....
Another thought I had was the heritage. Some journalists talked about the end of an era, the Kennedy era. I thought - now that Ted is gone, what do WE all need to do? individually, collectively? Like in a tribe, when the shaman dies, is this the end of the wisdom and healing? It isn't. Others pick up on what they had the chance to learn.
It made me think that it may even good that an exceptional person dies, so that the responsibility of starting to do what the other was doing can expand onto others. Otherwise it's like one person doing the dishes, no need for others to do it.