Author Information
"Requited"
by Jeph Johnson
Since only the good die young, when I was diagnosed with terminal cancer at age 54, I knew I better get right on it; being good that is.
Here's that story...
It takes very little to die. It's just handed to you one day whether you want it or not. Living, on the other hand, requires a bevy of miracles. You must work hard every day to truly live. Breathing and heartbeats take energy! The beauty being, life doesn't feel like work when you love. We get so hung up on wanting others to love us. We strive so hard seeking love that we forget to give it. The truth is, you need not seek it, you simply need to give it. Those who gave their love to you, who were who you reminisced about, remain only in the poetry and pictures you've left behind. When your life is ended, those you have loved are who counts. They remain. The love you give outlives you. You might say, if you touch enough people with your love, that's immortality. I don't want to live forever, but it's nice to know my love is eternal.
Your meditation on love is
Your meditation on love is well taken. Although my own affliction is not terminal, or, at least, as not yet been diagnosed as such, it has given rise to insights that I had not expected. You are correct that, in the metaphysical aspect, death is not nearly as challenging as daily living. I suspect that is by design. Your description about the immortality of Love is also very well taken. Although I am a devout Christian, I believe the Church does not as often emphasize the spiritual aspect of Love as it should; and as you have emphasized here. Your words reminded me---and I mean this sincerely as a compliment---of other words, written centuries ago, by a tentmaker and a former fisherman, about the supremacy and the immortality of Love.
I hope you will continue to share the insights that come to you. They are valuable, and will continue to resonate for a long, long time.
Starward