Meet Joe Black - In the Next Life

I am the ultimate movie goer. If I had one wish in life, it would be to spend the entire day, every day, in a movie theater and watch different movies all day long. However, that's a dream and as we all know, life is more complicated than that. This past week, however, I was able to finally see the movie, "Meet Joe Black," and I must tell you I was truly impressed.

The reason for bringing up this movie in a bereavement article is actually quite simple - it deals with death. How you deal with death is a very personal issue. The way the writers of this movie handled it was very well done (in my humble opinion). For those of you who have not yet had the opportunity to see this film, I suggest you take a moment (well, it's more like 360 moments).

My personal philosophy is that there IS a next life. That next life contains all the wonderful things that this earthly life cannot give us. I was once told that if we truly understood what the next life held for us, we'd kill ourselves to get there. While I don't recommend that procedure, I would recommend that a little more research be conducted on your part as to what you believe about death. Do you believe that death is the end of everything? Do you believe that death is just the beginning of an eternal life with those you love? I prefer the latter of the two. This philosophy keeps me from the depression and utter remorse that occurs when a loved one leaves this life.

We recently had a dear friend die from colon cancer. (A couple of prior articles have told you more about him and his struggle -- "Cancer, worth dying for?" and "Why am I still here".) We watched this wonderful friend struggle with leaving this life when he just wanted to end the pain (upon himself and his family). Finally, the night before his death, his father had a dream. Now, you have to understand, his father was having the hardest time letting his son go. The thought of outliving your children is a hard one. Nonetheless, this dream brought peace to the mind of a loving father. In the dream, his son was strong and with loved ones (even his pets) in a next life.

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