Feet Of Clay

I've recently penned a sort of eulogy for someone I'd never thought to be praising...Someone who eventually realized that less than stellar behavior meant having to humble themselves enough to ask my forgiveness. The motivation behind this was, in the face of impending demise, to try to put right perceived injury and "get right with God," thereby enhancing the possibility of a better afterlife.

As a Jew, I find this focus on a theoretical afterlife rather than one's present life foreign. We are taught to be responsible in our behavior, commanded to repair the world in which we live, to look after others, to care for whatever we can of the world at large, and to try to better ourselves spiritually while we're here.

To me, this means actively attempting to live my life in such a way that I think before acting, and understand that my actions carry consequences. I claim no certainty with regard to an afterlife, though at this point, I do have more than a passing understanding of foibles, flaws and quirks, in myself and others. I too have had to ask forgiveness and take stock and found the process beyond humbling. Because of this, I readily granted forgiveness, hoping it might bring some peace to a turbulent situation.

While my Christian friend may have thought about these ideas in the abstract, what is to me most striking in the aftermath of this person's death is not only the trail of broken relationships and voiced regrets, but the noticeable lack of both mourners and closure for the few who feel it indecent to allow a life to pass unacknowledged.

We are all human beings.