"Maui '99" - Reflections on Life, Death, and Beauty
New cemeteries give me the heebie-jeebies. Something about the manicured grass still wet with tears…and the fresh bodies underfoot. Every flower in a new cemetery represents someone who still feels pain.
While new graves remind me of loss and sadness, the sight of aged tombstones soothes me.
There's something really cool about an old graveyard in the daytime. I specify "daytime" because, after dark, any cemetery starts to look like the set of "Thriller." I half-expect Michael Jackson to pop from behind a tombstone and say, "I'm not like other guys." ( Now that I think of it, That was some pretty strong foreshadowing Michael gave us. I guess we can't say Captain Eo didn't warn us.)
I find old cemeteries pleasant. I think it's because they remind me of the life cycle. The bodies lying there are long decomposed. Every atom of energy has been broken down and recycled by the universe. Their consciousness and memories are gone, but their energy continues to pulse and grow elsewhere. Maybe in the lush Hawaiian jungles. Maybe in me. Probably a little of both.
And when my shell is long gone, my energy will cycle through the universe, too. The cycle just seems so clear while wandering among the crumbling headstones. I feel the timelessness of existence.
Looking around the amazing beauty of this planet (even more blatant in hyper-fertile Maui) I just feel lucky to be a part of all.
