Author Yolanda J. Ash
Every person plays a distinctive and undeniable role and has an intricate place in the formulation and reality of family. Even in *dysfunctionality (as we all experience to some degree), each of us has a role and place…we are all individual books upon the bookshelves of life.
We all carry with (within) us, the stories of our lives. Although we alone live out the chapters of our own particular comedies, satires, and general dramas and love stories, through blood and relations, we are inextricably and perpetually linked…to those we call “family”. The stronger the ties that bind, the more easily the pages and chapters of our lives blend and blur.
The more connected, usually the stronger the bonds; the deeper the loyalty and love.
Family members often share much more than just kinship…Our familial experiences, some good, some together, some bad, some just merely the realities of blood, genetics and relations. Marriages, divorces, births, graduations and deaths, all tie us in some way to someone else, in this world (and beyond). With this being said, then it would seem to this writer that the bigger, the stronger, the more connected, the more trusted (and trusting) you are with someone, the more easily you call them family (whether by blood or relations).
As the realities of life bring us together (and often keep us apart), we change places within the Universe of the bookshelves we may find our stories on. At some point in our lives we are the middle books, at other times we are the end books, which keep the strength of the “family” ties that bind us to one another together. In this way, we are eternally connected, by the strength of family blood, and friendship bonds.
My family and I have experienced the loss of many a loved one over the past few years. In my family, we love hard (and have been known to hit hard)…if one should choose to mess with our deep and wide family. My cousins recently lost a wonderful Father. Others of us in the family lost a wonderful Uncle, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, and Brother. My Auntie lost a truly loving and loved husband. Although I have yet to experience the loss of a husband, I have experienced the love of my Uncle, the man she called Husband, and I (my family), can truly feel her pain.
And although, the moment of the reality of My Uncle moving on Beyond the Rainbows of this life shook my family hard, it too shall pass. The beauty is that because my Uncle’s love runs deep and wide, he will be loved for quite a long time by many. As long as someone walking this Earth, calls his name, he still lives on, in love, through those of us who love him and will miss him.
His time as a Book End in our family is over. He has moved on to a more reverent place within our hearts and our memories.
In a sad way, the “death” of a loved one serves as a sad occassion for families to come together. This is why it is so important for families to make committed and subconscious decisions to get together and spend time with one another…other than just when someone passes on. By coming together, as family, we each help to ensure that the Books upon the shelves of our lives stay strong, stay loving and stay connected…both in sickness and in health.
As life progresses, we will each have the inescapable chance and opportunity to play the role of Book Ends to those we love, but in the meantime, we should work hard at cultivating, enjoying and sharing the pages of the stories of our lives with those whom we love, NOW, in these moments in time.
Peace, Love & Prosperity,
