Gone but not forgotten

Today, the Holy Father passed into heaven. And that will mean different things to different people.
I think he taught us not only how to live but also how to die. No heroics just pass peacefully into the next life in dignity.
Ironic, isn't it, the same week that Terri Schiavo passed with all the buzz from politicians and clergy and everyday folks having an opinion the Holy Father went with no real fanfare save the thousands waiting and praying in St. Peter's Square and the rest of the world watching on TV.
Somewhere in the future books will be written on the lives of both these people.
The legacy of each life is equally as significant because all life is significant.
For the record my family and friends know I would not want to be kept alive artificially.
We watched my mother " exist ' for days after making the decision to keep her alive at all costs.
Having gone through that experience we all decided to never let one of us go through that again.
That will be 30 years this October.
I emphathise with the parents of Mrs. Schiavo yet also wonder if the husband hasn't been maligned because he held true to a promise made years ago.
It made better news to have the fight in the media than if she had been let to go naturally years ago as so many people are everyday around the world that we never hear about.
I wouldn't call what she had " living ". It was " existing " to me. As a parent I would be anguished to have to let go and have had friends go through this experience. And having witnessed it I couldn't say I know how they felt. I could only say I could imagine how they felt.
Just as having to make the decision to donate my child's organs if that situation had come up would have been gut wrenching I hope to think I would have done the right thing and given someone else's child the chance to live.
So inside this week, Easter week, the world watched two different scenarios unfold.
And maybe the lesson we all take from this is is that we each are responsible in some way for own destiny and the power to control how it goes.
We saw the finality of each situation played out in front of us on our TV screens.
What I know for sure we each have the power to do is to tell those we care about we love them and how important each one is in their own right.
How many times do hear people say " I wish I had...." well now is the time to say it.