Houston, we have liftoff!

     Which do you prefer, departure or liftoff? Back in the day, it was always thrilling watching a rocket launch on television, awaiting the announcement,  "Houston, we have liftoff!" Even standing still, we are in a process of departing this life.   

     Daniel Robert Eldon, a young British photojournalist, artist and activist titled his journal, "The Journey Is The Destination," also the title of a film about his life. Reading the press coverage of his violent death, I struggled to comprehend it. He was brilliant, had a great heart and he was so young. 

   

A man does not die of love or his liver or even of old age; he dies of being a man. Miguel de Unamuno

     Are you comfortable with the Buddhist precept of impermanence? -Not many Westerners view birth and death as illusory. We invest belief in paradise, in everlasting life, right down to rejoining our acquaintances, friends and family. Some plan for marriage in the afterlife; others consider that a pathway to purgatory. Either way, we depart, and how we view the departure is more important than the event, itself. 

     As for me, I'd prefer liftoff, implying freedom from gravity, leaving everything and everyone behind for a final adventure, destination unknown. You may be thinking, of course, you would choose liftoff! You have lived a long, full life. But, as there is no such thing as closure, there is no such thing as a full life. Centenarian or infant, there is always something more. 

     My hope is to be at peace with my own death and not to have people grieving my death. I like the concept of an Irish wake, but without the maudlin aspects. And, please, no "celebration" of my life, as there is something false in ceremony.

      All I'd like to fund, besides the obvious, is one great party, with glorious music, champagne and a big, luscious cake. Think of it!