Thursdays With Death

TWD - Chapter 1- A Tall, Slow While Dude

Death had been with me in my office now for a couple of hours. I had more questions to ask, and I really didn’t want to wait until our next meeting, but I had a lot of work to do. Sometimes it can be tough being so dedicated. Good thing I’m not.

“So Death,” I said. “There you go again, referring to past lives again. You’ve never really answered that question yet. Will you explain this whole thing to me?”

Death moved from the chair near the wall to the one in front of my desk. Noticing the Nerf basketball on my desk near my computer, Death grabbed it, swiveled around in the chair, and began to shoot at the basket on the back of my door.

“Sure,” Death said. “We all live many lives, until we’ve learned what we are supposed to.”

“And how many lives does that take?” I asked.

“As many as are necessary for the particular path we are on,” Death said. “Some learn more quickly than others. Some are more aware than others are when they start a new life. It all depends on the path we’ve chosen.”

I watched as Death continued to shoot baskets. Being dead and all sure hadn’t slowed any skills in the Nerf basketball department. I wondered about playing Death in a real game.

“I’d scorch you,” Death said, turning the chair toward me. “I’d clean your clock. You’d never even have a chance to score. It would be sad.”

I looked directly at Death’s... face. If I didn’t know better, I’d say I saw a smile.

“You think so,” was my great comeback.

“No,” Death said. “I know so.”

“So, you’re so much better than me in basketball?”

“No. I’m just aware of my power and am not afraid of it.”

“And I’m not aware of my power?”

“Oh, I think you are aware of your power. But any power that you may be aware of scares the crap out of you.”

That stopped me for a second. I was aware of the power that we all have, but I was terrified of trying it. I didn’t think anybody knew of this fear, but Death had nailed it. He had figured me out.

“Don’t take it so hard,” Death said comfortingly. “I didn’t ‘nail it’ with you. Almost everyone feels the same way. Most, however, don’t know where the fear comes from. It’s just this low-level, background kind of fear. They know it’s there, but they can’t quite put their finger on what it is. However, it is there and it constantly reminds them that it is there. At least you know what the fear is. That’s a huge step down your path. That’s part of why we want to help you.”

I let this all sink in for a couple of minutes. It actually is a bit empowering to know what your fear is. Knowing it does give you a certain amount of strength. I can feel it. I can feel the strength. I thought again about basketball.

“So, since I have this strength, I should be able to beat you in basketball,” I said.

“Oh no,” Death said. “I’ll still scorch you. You’re a tall, slow white dude. Get real!”