Molly's thoughts about death and the afterlife, part two...

As part of the course on death and dying that Molly took for her degree at the University of Utah, Molly wrote a paper on the book Tuesdays With Morrie. She began the paper with her observations about Morrie:

"Morrie was lucky. He figured out what life was all about before it was too late. And best of all, he shared it with others. Morrie is the type of person who makes the world go round. People lucky enough to have him in their lives know how blessed they are. He gave his friends and family his most precious possession, time. Amazing how this one person had enough time to give not just to his family but to his friends and acquaintances as well. And how much richer they were for it. And not only did he spend time with them, he actually listened to them. "

This description of Morrie is interesting because it is how people who knew Molly would describe her. She saw in Morrie the characteristics that she exemplified. She continues her essay with:

"When Morrie found out about his disease, he was 'stunned by the normalcy of the day around him. Shouldn't the world stop? Don't they know what has happened to me?' I think when anything as startling as a death or knowledge of a fatal disease comes to the forefront of our lives, it is shocking that the world around us still continues. I thought this very same thing when my mother passed away. 'Don't they know?!' I couldn't understand how calloused the world was. Jokes about death on the late night shows, people celebrating and laughing like nothing had happened. And of course, in their lives, nothing had. But in mine, my foundation for life was gone. And though I believed in a life after life, it still was no consolation for the many years I would be without her. I wasn't ready to be without a mother at the young age of twenty-five. And as time went on and I became a mother, it was then when I fully understood her role as my mother. Finally, I was able to relate to her not only as a daughter but as mothers. And she was gone! My children would never know their grandmother. I would never be able to let her know how much I appreciated her in this life, but somehow I think she does know. I think when we invite our departed into our thoughts, they are aware of that."

I think Molly is correct about our departed being aware when we invite them into our thoughts. I think her use of the word invite is very interesting. One thought I have of Molly is that she certainly would have been a super grandmother!