Protestantism

» pink101 - A Cousin Died

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A cousin died Saturday.
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The first death in my generation on my father's side.
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Now death enters my generation as he stalks his prey.
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-- posted by pink101

» Brian Tubbs - A Cousin Died

In response to A Cousin Died posted by pink101:

I can relate to death being up close and personal. I've lost both my parents. Watched my mother die. Was in the hospital room when it happened. Watched helplessly as she drew her last breath. It hits home. Both my parents died young too (my dad at 49 - my mom at 58). So, I offer my sincere condolences and I know it feels (both to lose a loved one, but also to feel death itself getting closer).

» pink101 - A Cousin Died

In response to A Cousin Died posted by BrianTubbs:
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I was distant enough from my cousin that I can be fairly objective about his death.
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His death reminds me of the steadily approaching event we will all experience. It has been called the Great Equalizer.
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-- posted by pink101

» paper_turtle - A Cousin Died

In response to A Cousin Died posted by pink101:

My condolences, Phil.
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peace and love,
Paper Turtle

-- posted by paper_turtle

» pink101 - An Ecclesiastes Moment

In response to A Cousin Died posted by paper_turtle:
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Thanks. I was more shocked than anything. It was a sad and tragic loss to the greater family. To me, it brought meaning about the value of the extended family. That is something few of us consider in these rapidly consumerized times. So much emphasis has been on ME for so long. It doesn't signal well for society.
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Life and Death seems to be all wrapped up in some kind of a package or a pill that we take once a day as though it were a vitamin.
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It is sort of an Ecclesiastes moment.
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Do you know what I mean?
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-- posted by pink101

» paper_turtle - An Ecclesiastes Moment

In response to An Ecclesiastes Moment posted by pink101:

Are you saying you came up against the deepest mysteries of human experience, and you were awe-struck?

peace and love,
Paper Turtle

-- posted by paper_turtle

» pink101 - An Ecclesiastes Moment

In response to An Ecclesiastes Moment posted by paper_turtle:
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"...you were awe-struck?"
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No. I was--once again and poignantly--reminded of the greater familal structure in which we exist--our interdepence--the relationships we hold in this life and the meaningfulness they give us.
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-- posted by pink101

» paper_turtle - An Ecclesiastes Moment

In response to An Ecclesiastes Moment posted by pink101:

I was--once again and poignantly--reminded of the greater familal structure in which we exist--our interdepence--the relationships we hold in this life and the meaningfulness they give us.
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Yes, that was in my mind, but somehow failed to reach my fingers, when I posted, above.
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A year or so ago I inherited a collection of photographs of my paternal relatives. I never knew most of the people in them. I never heard their stories. But I felt so connected to them as I looked at the photos--and I felt a sense of connection beyond family, to all the friends and neighbors and assorted loved ones their lives had touched. Powerful stuff.
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peace and love,
Paper Turtle

-- posted by paper_turtle

» pink101 - An Ecclesiastes Moment

In response to An Ecclesiastes Moment posted by paper_turtle:
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It is truly sad that people keep skeletons in their closets.
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It is far better for us to know the truth about our roots and from where we came--or as the Masons say, "From whence came ye?".
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The ability we have to reflect on our past gives us the perspectives we need to be able to view life as it truly is. When religionists get all bent out of shape singing and thinking about the "Sweet by and by" and--more to the point--when they ignore this existence as being worth so little in the "greater" scheme of things, they truncate reality and stay fixed in some distant past that ignores the reality of the day to day life we all live. Better, we are set free to live our life in the here and the now. I think that is what Jesus taught.
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-- posted by pink101