Living, Not Dying

For me, life is about living, not dying.
I've never been one to visit a grave site,
mourning for a soul that is no longer in the ground.

When I'm gone, don't celebrate the death,
celebrate the life that was;
and if there are any good memories of me,
ponder on them, from time to time.

I don't want a funeral and wake where everyone
comes to see what is left,
sitting in tearful remembrance of a soul
that has already flown away.

I believe God exists in the essence of the land,
in the beauty of the forest, in the water, the sea,
the heavens above, the pure nature around us.
That is where I hope I will go.

If possible, gather together on a clear day;
on a hilltop, near an ocean or a lake,
somewhere beautiful and lonely.
Scatter me in the land that I love.

Most of all, stay together as a family,
because family is everything to me.
Through all the good times, the bad,
the ups and downs of life,
we only have each other.

And if I continue my journey elsewhere,
I hope I become one of the greatest writers ever,
because that is what I always wished I could have been.

When my time comes, I will always be with you,
somewhere in the back of your mind.

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