From Vapor to Eternity: Reflecting on the Ephemeral Nature of Life

Disclaimer: This post contains sensitive material that deals with sensitive subjects that may not be suitable for all audiences. Read at your own discretion.

The other day I wrote a blog post entitled:

“Spirits of Chaos: The Violent Rituals of Destruction and Power”

It was about how there are those of us in this country who have an obsession with invoking and worshiping evil spirits. In this post, I talked about violence and destruction.

Yesterday, I was reminded of James 4:13-15. The CEB reads,

“13 Pay attention, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such-and-such a town. We will stay there a year, buying and selling, and making a profit.” 14 You don’t really know about tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for only a short while before it vanishes. 15 Here’s what you ought to say: “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

As a child, I was always taught to remember that tomorrow was not promised so I needed to remember who holds tomorrow. I heard constant reminders to say, “If it is God’s Will.”

I like how the CEB (Common English Bible) reads in verse 14 when it says, “You don’t really know about tomorrow.” On Tuesday of this week, I had no idea what Wednesday was going to bring. About halfway through the day. we started hearing the news that there was a shooting on campus where I work. As I was told more of the story, it was shared that it was a suicide by a self inflicted gunshot wound. As the day progressed, I was told more about the allegations of possible reasons as to why this happened in the ER of a hospital.

There are news reports of allegations of a path of destruction and evil that were associated with his being. To add to the family’s woes and how those who shared the charges feel, now several people from the community (patients and my coworkers) will be dealing with the trauma of the events. There will be speculation for days, months, and maybe years to come. May all who were affected find peace.

I was reminded that each day that I leave my family at the house, I am not promised to come back home to them. Yesterday could have definitely been different because many of us have worked in that area off and on over the years. This is why I try to practice my rituals with my family every morning by giving them a kiss and telling them, “I’ll see you later.” Instead of focusing on invoking evil spirits, I seek to conjure up (or “stir up” for my super religious people) spirits that will connect people to the Spirit of the Divine. I also believe that when we “create memories”, we are imprinting small pieces of ourselves with others. I believe this is how our spirit lives on even after we have transitioned to the Land of the Ancestors. Those of us who claim to follow the Text should think about this as we live daily.

From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.
Arthur Ashe