Written on the sands of time…

Memories are a residue of life.

And just as God has set a positive and negative for everything He has created, similarly, memories have such equal emotions too. Some are burdening and some are a beautiful remembrance for what life had once offered.

Death is often taken to be negative, when it might not always be the case. Here’s my memory:

My uncle passed away in 2005 due to a stroke. Throughout his eight days of being in coma (he never woke up), I felt he wouldn’t make it but the last two days before he was to leave, the doctors convinced me that my uncle was making great progress for a stroke patient. I was filled with hope which was cruelly snatched when one morning, I woke up to the news of his death. The memory of that day is a blur; mixture of loud cries, people and more people, words and then a face. His face when he was being taken to the graveyard: so peaceful, as if he was home.

Months after his death, I would go for long drives or sit by the beach to cry so I can release my inner confusion and sadness. As I drove, I found it difficult to imagine that just ten days back, he was present in these surroundings and now, he was not. When we were waiting for his body in the hospital, I stared outside the window and wondered how the cars could move, trees could sway, ants would walk and people would chatter despite my life come to an abrupt halt. How could life possibly move on?

Hidden in that brief moment was my lesson:

People never die because the second the soul drifts to the sky, memories fill our void. It’s up to us how we choose to keep them alive. I could either live with the memory of his last moments, be sad over it or I could remember his life and celebrate the legacy he left us. I chose the latter. And I am at peace with myself.

I gave the same advice to a friend whose father passed away early this year and suddenly, the coping mechanism isn’t the greatest challenge. I wake up every morning and wonder how I can make him proud and how can I emulate his eternal greatness.

His memory will always be a beautiful one.

~ Masarat Daud [@masarat]

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Tagged as: Cancer, Coma, Conditions and Diseases, death, guest, guest blogging, guest post, Health, Hospital, memories, Soul, Stroke