A Celebration of Death

Aretha is dead. Well, she lived, by all accounts, a good life, and, ;like all of us, she is now gone on to a new adventure. She was massively talented. Her style of music was not my favorite, but there is no denying her talent.
But, as I'm sure you have guessed, is not what this post is about. I have long been fascinated, in a weird sort  of way, by our cultures obsession with celebrity death. Every time a famous entertainer  or sports star dies, we almost declare a National state of mourning, Albums, films, books, whatever they were noted for, start selling at a huge rate. The TV news networks covered the story all day and are back on it today. People who never knew these folks become almost distraught. Those who barely knew them crawl out of the woodwork to get their little bit of attention.
We have a morbid obsession with death and almost use these occasions to indulge in a sort of celebration of death. Certainly death is not to be feared, but I was taught that a passing was to be a quiet affair, noted and attended bu family and friends.
Why is it a sadder day when a celebrity dies than when someone's aunt or vest friend dies. I mourn the passing of loved ones, not folks I never met. If I liked their work, well I still have their works to enjoy. But, again and again we go through this absurd mourning of celebritie. We saw it with Ptince, Whitney Houston, Mohammad Ali and countless others.
Celebrate life, and. every day celebrate those you love. When someone dies, note their passing, then celebrate their life. Now, I', going to end this rambling post. Another Aretha song kust came on the news and I think I need to fet out among the living. Rest well Aretha. You deserve it. The rest of you, get out there and get busy.

You Own Nothing

This is true. You own nothing. You merely have temporary possession.  Stop and think. You work and earn pay. Then you but and either simply consume or use what you buy to create something else. And so on, until you leave this World, and believe one thing. You will leave this World.
The old saying is true. You can't take it with you when you go. The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt and the Emperors  of Old China tried. We have found their tombs filled with treasures and even with the bodies of loved ones and servants to join them in the next World. Well, there lie the remains and they obviously did not accompany the deceased. Even the bodies of the old rulers are just lying there. The soul does not take physical possessions with it and all those shiny things and beautiful bodies lie moldering.
You own nothing. You just, through the Grace of the Creator
This is not saying that you should follow the path if the old Gnostics. The World and its life is not evil. It is a beautiful wonder. You need a few things' shelter, clithes, food and water and there is nothing wrong with having a few trinkets and toys to brighten things as long as you are not grasping for them and clinging to them. Unfortunately, that is what many, if nit mist de, and that is a huge part of the problems we have.
On a personal level, we do ourselves a lot of harm when we waste our precious time on this Earth concentrating on things. More damaging, we waste our even more precious consciousness.
Enjoy your life and take delight in the things you have, but realize, you just have them for a fleeting moment. You van't take it with you, and again, like it or nit, one day, you will go.
It's the weekend. Have fun, be safe and get some rest. May you have a Most Blessed weekend