The Web of Being and cheating Death

I went up to bed early and couldn't stop thinking of the phone conversation I had with Franca tonight...it seemed at first full of innocuous goodness...in that she wanted me to know she was thinking of me, good wishes, don't hesitate to call for anything you need...all this has been coming my way from my family these last few weeks...and then we talked about Friday's dinner with my other cousins and then all of a sudden it turned into something deeper...they were with me because what was happening to me was happening to them...because I was part of them and they were part of me...we were one..I felt my throat tightening and being almost unable to speak anymore. "If it happens to you, it's happening to us", Franca said. This palpable goodness, this unbreakable yet fragile connection we have to life through one another...this web of being.

And that is, I think how we cheat Death. Yes, I'm sick, well, guess what? , someone loves me...so take that, Death. I'm afraid and anxious and can't think straight, well, guess what?, the love of my friends and family  surrounds me, their care envelopes me, their words console me, so take that Death. It might not all work out for the best.  And, guess what, Death? - so what?  Your leering, swaggering, niggling, bullying, cruel taunting, circling and threatening darkness is quietly, unexpectedly shattered, broken, relieved, vanquished, by our frail, fragile, imperfect and insistent love. The fear of you is not the boss of me.