[at-l] the challenges of our faith, morality and life

[Bror8588 at aol.com (Bror8588@aol.com)]

In a message dated 3/26/2005 8:32:06 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
ellen@clinic.net writes:

Death is  not pleasant. But the mortality of humans is 100 percent. I like 
Henry  Thoreau's response when asked if he had made his peace with God. "I 
didn't  know we had quarreled," he replied. "One world at a  time."




Separation from loved ones is difficult.  Death is the final  separation and 
though some cling to the hope that the separation is not  permanent but that 
the after-life will rejoin family -- no one knows.  It  is a hope that helps 
some people cope with the isolation of separation.   "Making one's peace with 
God" is really about making peace with one's  self.  Resolving to forgive those 
who have wronged you through life's many  experiences and forgiving oneself 
for the wrongs one has committed.  Life  is a myriad of experiences, some bad 
but most good, and there are twists and  turns that are many times unexpected 
and unplanned.  Some people grow  through their experiences yet some do not 
learn and stick to their ignorant ways  of thinking.  They ignore avenues of 
learning and do not become aware of  truths presented by others who have 
experienced life.  We can learn from  reading the imagined plots of authors from the 
past and weigh the experiences  that we read about with our own life's examples 
and come to understand ourselves  and others, or we can remain in a state of 
ignoring and thus remain  ignorant.  
 
I can understand the dilemma of those involved with the humanity of the  
decision that Terri Schiavo's family has to make.  One side wants her  suffering 
to end while the other wants the opportunity to prolong her life in  the hope 
that a cure will be found or some miraculous thing will happen and she  will 
become as she once was.  What I do not understand is why she needs to  be 
deprived of water.  If she is able to drink water she has the right to  do so.  
People should not be prohibited from offering her water.  I  believe that there 
was a news article that indicated that this was the practice  -- to prohibit her 
getting water.  If she refuses to drink then that is an  indication of her 
state of mind -- at least it would be a concrete indication of  her own 
expression of will.  I know that some say that she is unable to  will anything.  I do 
not know.  Some say that she has will.  I do  not know.  But her will might be 
determined by her actions in regard to the  offering of water.
 
It is true that there are many who are dying in all parts of our  globe.  
Little children, people of the middle years, and old people.   In a typical NYC 
hospital there are probably several who die from the same  conditions that 
Terri Schiavo is dying from.  This news item, this Case,  this particular 
situation has pitted people on two opposing points of  view.  We have sympathy for 
both the husband and the parents who are, each,  trying to solve the problem of 
suffering.  
 
This is something that I cannot do anything about.  I have no  responsibility 
in this situation; however, I can take my feelings about it  to my other 
areas of life.  The people I meet who are suffering -- how can  I alleviate or 
mitigate their suffering?  Those who are helpless -- how can  I be of help to 
them?  Those incapacitated and unable to maneuver -- how  can I assist them?  
Those who are ignorant -- how can I inform them or make  them aware?  How can I 
live my life so that those who are less fortunate or  less able find solutions 
for their predicaments?
 
Skylander