drink deep...

I just found out the other day that a friend of mine, a former mentor lost his son in a car accident.  From my perspective a tragedy.  This is not the first time that I have had friends who lost their dear son just as they are entering adulthood.  It grabs me when I hear that, and even though I have been around death as a profession and am very comfortable with death, it causes me to think deeply, to drink in life.   It reminds me of the wisdom literature from the book of Ecclesiastes 7:2 whereby it is said, "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart".  I guess that is what I mean, I take it to heart, I drink it in, and the water is sweet to my lips, savoring each drop.  It causes me to think about life, in that way, and wonder as I reflect as to whether or not I am wasting my life or impacting with my life.  Perhaps why I am drinking this in so deeply right now is also because I have just recently experienced a great life transition.  When you transition from something, from someone's, it is cause for reflection.  And like a mother who thinks the world is thoughtless when it carries on, as she stands over the grave of her son, when one is drinking in life deeply and reflecting hard it can seem like the unreflective world is thoughtless too.  For when one is in the midst of deep reflection, it does seems unholy almost, when others do not reflect or seem to acknowledge life and the impact or potential impact therein.  Reflection is necessary, to carry on, for it is in the reflection whereby one can evaluate as to whether or not one has left or is going to leave a legacy at all, whether one is having or has had impact, whether one will have impact in the future.  Perhaps why this song causes me to drink deep as to what life is all about, because I am sure most of us if not each of us would choose to have the words of this song to be, in part, our legacy at least that portion that says, "you were always there, for everybody, you brought your bright rays of light to those cloudy days, you were an inspiration for everybody...  we miss you so much, we are all at a loss, we are here just thinking about you".  Is that our legacy... drink deep... let the song pour over your lips and caress your taste buds... for life.