It Has Been 51 Years Now
My beloved brother, a man of true substance, left this realm of existence on June 14, 1974. He was twenty-three years old. He died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage.
Time is a persistent illusion. My memory of our time together is still so fresh and clear that it seems impossible that over eighteen thousand days have passed since his death. His body stopped functioning back in 1974. His energy, his essence, continues on in another realm. I will experience pure joy when I reunite with him and my mother after my body stops functioning as it soon will.
At the time of his death, I felt that there had to be some colossal cosmic blunder. The grim reaper made a stupid mistake and took the wrong person. I felt it should have been me instead of my brother. He had so much good to offer this oft-times crappy world. In a heartbeat I would have offered myself in his place if only I was given that opportunity.
Over twenty years ago, I had a random conversation with a shop owner. The conversation briefly veered to what happens to us when we die. The shop owner looked at me with eyes that had seen suffering and said “All I want when I get there is some answers”. To that I simply say “Amen”.
Growing Up Together
My brother was three years older than me. We grew up together through the era of the 1950’s and 1960’s. We shared a ton of experiences together living in our two bedroom house. Up until the early 1960’s, we even shared a bed. I still remember “Move over, you’re on my side”. My sister was born in 1959. When she outgrew her crib, she moved into our bedroom. Separate bedrooms for Bobby and me were cobbled together up in the attic.
As the years progressed, we developed our own individual skills and personalities, strengths and weaknesses. We had occasional squabbles as do all brothers, but we always remained close and loyal to each other. When he got involved in high school and college activities, I saw less of him but our brotherly bonds of affection always remained solid.
Demonstrating The Presence of God
We are created in the image of the Most High. As such, we have the privilege to be able to demonstrate the presence of the Most High by means of the Kingdom of God within us. This is accomplished by expressing high frequency energy sequences emanating from the Divine. These include love, peace, power, abundance, compassion, truth, light, imagination, creativity. Throughout his life, at one time or another, my brother demonstrated these aspects. He packed a lot of life into those twenty-three years. More in those twenty-three years than me in my seventy-two years.
Job
The biblical book of Job is a fascinating study in human emotion. I always believed that there that there was much more to the story than meets the eye. By that I mean a deeper meaning below the surface story. There is scarcely any suffering that a human can experience that Job did not experience. Job pleads his case with raw honesty and bluntness about the gross injustice of his suffering. Nevertheless, he steadfastly refuses to curse God.
The zinger comes in within chapter 28 when Job states, “Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?….,,it is hid from the eyes of all living”. And there it is. Until my spirit proceeds to the next realm, the why of the timing of my brother’s death will be hidden from me. I will have to live with that.
A Person of True Substance
What does it mean to be a person of substance. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the wealth that you possess, the possessions that you own, or the level of control that you exert over others.A person of substance is defined by a series of lifelong choices. Choices followed by actions to implement those choices. Choices that demonstrated the presence and glory of Divine Source.
Choices that involve deciding what must be done now versus what can wait. Whether to choose caution and avoid danger or take risk and potentially experience failure. Conforming to society’s norms or following your own inner light if that light varies from societal norms. Understanding what is true and right and making that the only road that you travel.
A person of substance actually participates in the positive growth and enhancement of everything that exists. The growth of the universe. To actually have the honor to interact with a person of true substance is a delight to our soul. That person creates growth in the universe regardless of their station in life.
Carl Jung
Have you ever heard of the man Carl Jung? He is recognized as one of the most influential psychiatrists of all time. He founded the field of analytical psychiatry and was among the first in his field to explore the religious nature behind human psychology. He is an interesting guy.
Take a look at this statement from Jung:
“In this overpoweringly humdrum existence, alas, there is little out of the ordinary that is healthy, and thus, not much room for conspicuous heroism. Not that heroic demands are never put on us – on the contrary – and this is so irritating and irksome – the banal everyday makes banal demands upon our patience, our devotion, our perseverance, our self-sacrifice. For us to fulfill these demands (as we must) humbly and without courting applause through heroic gestures, a heroism is needed that cannot be seen from the outside. It does not glitter. It is not belauded. It always seeks concealment in everyday attire.”
If you take a close look at those who appear to be people of substance, sometimes what you will find under the surface is a person who is merely self-serving. Take a second look at that statement from Jung. Men and women of true substance are often much closer than you think. My brother was one of them.
Choices
With regard to my brother’s life, I believe that he substantially made the correct choices in life – a man of true substance. I was privileged to be his brother. When you come to the end of your stay here on planet earth, you will have to ask yourself some hard questions. What choices did you make? Did you enhance life or did you subtract from it? Did you fully use what you had to work with or did you waste much of what you had? Did you balance getting with giving? Did you give it the best that you had to give or did you just coast to the finish line?
Wherever you currently are on your life’s journey, beginning, middle or near the end, you always have a choice. You can make the choices that demonstrate that you are a person of true substance. Or you can settle for living a life of smoke and mirrors, masks and facades. A hollow existence down a dead end street. If you make the conscious decision to be a person of substance, you will enrich your life experience while you are here, as well as in the next realm, after your body stops functioning.
The choice is yours. It always has been. It will continue to be until your last breath. Then, the book of your life will be closed. Choose well.
Dominus Vobiscum.
Conceive. Believe. Receive.