JUNE 19
To have lived at all is a measure of immortality; for a baby
to be born, to become a man, a woman, to beget others like
himself, is an act of faith in itself, even an act of defiance. It
is as though every human being born into this world burns,
for a brief moment, like a star, and because of its pinpoint
of light shines in the darkness, and so there is glory, so there
is life.
—DAPHNE DU MAURIERWhen we think of the processes of nature that brought about
any one of us—the gene selection, the combination of that
particular ovum and that particular sperm, our life in the
womb, our transit into life as breathing, independent
creatures—our being alive at all is in itself a miracle of sur-
vival and a cause for wonder and celebration. And so it is
with the advent of our loved one upon the earth, and with
the tides of kinship and love that cast us in the same scene,
the same drama, together. Though we mourn the passing
of that loved one, think how much poorer our lives would
have been had we not inhabited the world together! While
we hope for a continuation of life together beyond death, it
is no small thing to have known and cherished one another
in this spectacular setting—life.
I am grateful from the core of my being for the life I have shared
with my loved one.