Origins with Death

Since my breakup, I have moved into a new apartment. As I was unpacking my belongings, I came across some old books that I'd been shuttling around with me since high school. One of them was "Wipe Your Face, You Just Swallowed My Soul" by Hugh Prather.

Hugh Prather had a large influence on me during my mid to late adolescence. Not that his writing is all about death. He mostly focuses on reminding us to live in the now. The following comes from his book "Notes to Myself."

"She may die before morning. But I have been with her for four years. Four years. There is no way I could feel cheated if I didn't have her for another day. I didn't deserve her for one minute, God knows.

"And I may die before morning.

"What I must do is die now. I must accept the justice of death and the injustice of life. I have lived a good life - longer than many, better than most. Tony died when he was twenty. I have had thirty-two years. I couldn't ask for another day. What did I do to deserve birth? It was a gift. I am me - that is a miracle. I had no right to a single minute. Some are given a single hour. And yet, I have had thirty-two years.

"Few can choose when they will die. I choose to accept death now. As of this moment, I give up my "right" to live. And I give up my "right" to her life.

"But it's morning. I have been given another day. Another day to hear and read and smell and walk and love and glory. I am alive for another day.

"I think of those who aren't."