- 25th
- January
- 2010
Beauty at a stop light
There is a funeral home right next to the nursing home where I work…also nearby are Hospice Austin, Texas State Cemetery and a Cancer Center. About once a week, the ambulances or firetrucks pull up to work to take out “the expired”. I have recently become quite numb to the aging process, disease process and the process by which we “export the expired”.
Today I was stopped at the light by this funeral home. Everyone was congregated outside. The men dressed dapper in their sleek black suits, ties, vests, and cuff links. The women dressed in all white with the most fabulous hats — derby style with plumage, oversized flowers and bows… fabulous, giant bows. Everyone was laughing, hugging, kissing, celebrating. It was beautiful. It brought tears to my eyes. Not tears of sadness, but tears of grace, of the dignity of life, of the dignity of death.
Life is everywhere. Death is everywhere. Beauty is everywhere. You just have to keep your eyes and heart open. Beauty was in East Austin, stopped at a light for me today.
