For Whom the Bell Tolls

John Donne couldn’t have said it any better in his poem, "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

No man is an island,

Entire of itself.

Each is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thine own

Or of thine friend's were.

Each man's death diminishes me,

For I am involved in mankind.

Therefore, send not to know

For whom the bell tolls,

It tolls for thee.

Any man’s death diminishes us.  But more so if we know the person who just died. Such death leaves some inexplicable sense of hollowness which sears our spirits for quite a while.

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The death of the three OFWs in China left such an effect on me.  I was most especially sad for the families they left behind. I felt for the young children who will have to live the rest of their lives without their other parent anymore. I also sympathized for the mothers and fathers who have to face the ordeal of unveiling their anguish for all to see.  I feel sad for seeing so much sadness and sorrow…

But on the other hand, I’d like to think Ramon Credo, Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, and Elizabeth Batain  are in a much better place now.  After languishing many years in prison for the crime they were charged, their pains are finally ended.  They are now free from any more suffering, any more sorrows.

Death does that to us.  It frees us.  It liberates us.  While it may leave a deep and lasting pain to the those who love us, it nevertheless strengthens them. 

From This

I’d like to believe that no death is untimely.  Because everything happens for a reason.  Although deciphering such reason may sometimes take a lifetime for some of us.  There is always a reason.  Such is the mystery of life. 

Death is painful.  But life remains worth living.