Selfish Tears

When one we love passes away, we cry...

Why?

Even looking at it from a non-religious standpoint, we don't cry for the deceased. We have no idea what happens to that individual after they die. We can say that we believe they go to heaven, or we know that they are "One with God" or "at peace"...  but in reality, very few people, if any are gifted with the knowledge of exactly what lies after death...

So, what are we crying for?

We cry because that person will no longer share in our lives, that person will no longer make up a portion of our life story. We cry because we must live through a present and a future without them.

We cry because we are selfish...

The person who passes away and has tears shed for them, was such an amazing, AMAZING person, that regardless of faults, pain caused knowingly or unknowingly to others... that person has inspired sadness. That person has given the world gifts that will be sorely missed now that they are gone.

Those selfish tears are all that we are left with... and memories.

I remember my father as a strong man, and as a weak man. I remember him as being many things, angry, sad, happy, but I cry not because of the things I remember about him, I cry because of the gifts he has given me that I cannot recall. I cry because of the moral values he has instilled in every fibre of my being. I cry because my children and grandchildren (if I am given the grace of God to have any) will not have the privilege and opportunity to ever meet a man who has changed so many lives.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad once said, "Paradise lies at the feet of mothers"... for me, I saw Paradise whenever my father smiled.