The Eternal Flow

"I feel myself so much a part of everything living that I am not the least concerned with the beginning or ending of the concrete existence of one person in this eternal flow."

-- Albert Einstein

Death happens. What happens after death is anyone's guess. What we do know is that life goes on. I die, you die, someone dies, in fact, everyone dies sooner or later, and still life goes on. And whether you know it, (like Einstein) or not (like Joe Sixpack) we're all a part of this eternal flow.

Kind of takes the pressure off, doesn't it? If we really feel our unity with all of life, death of one physical body, even our own physical body, means so little. Your obit today, lines the birdcage tomorrow.

And yet, I'm hardly fatalistic or pessimistic, just realistic. Recognizing our part in the eternal flow, now, while we're still alive, helps make life an enjoyable journey rather than a life or death battle. The purpose of life is not to see who can make the biggest splash in the eternal stream. If Einstein had not concocted his theory of relativity, someone else would have. The flow supercedes the individual, but in truth the individual is one with the flow. The size of the wave hardly matters -- we're all water.

So, lighten up! Better to feel your oneness with everything than to worry about death -- yours or anyone's. The ultimate accomplishment is not living long but living well, moment by moment, in the eternal flow.