In the hospital where I work, a lullaby is played overhead throughout the hospital when a child is born. As a new nurse a few years ago, I was standing beside a patient along with her family listening to this overhead lullaby which was signaling the birth of a child as we watched this woman take her last breath. I couldn't help but think of the circle of life and the utter beauty of it. Death is not always peaceful nor is it always considered to be a beautiful thing but it certainly brings a completeness to life. Without it, we would not have the appreciation for life that we do.
It should not be inferred that I am suggesting that life cannot be celebrated, appreciated, or fully acknowledged prior to death. Nor am I suggesting that heartache and sadness should not be felt in the instance of death. I am only saying that one's life is not complete until death just as it is not complete only with childbirth or only with other milestones or individual successes in one's life. The end of one's life allows for the final embracing of the beauty of that life. It is the end of the ability for anything better here on earth for that life. The best has been had. All that is to be admired or rejected has already taken place. The rest of us can continue to reflect on that life and be happy for the things we have experienced and learned (and can continue to learn) from that life.
I admit that my views on this subject are limited and incomplete. They are formed from personal experiences and observations along with my belief in God, in Heaven, and in peace.
“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded.”
Bessie A. Stanley (a version of her original definition of the word 'success')
