Don't get so caught up in the plot that

you forget this is a story.

We know there is a beginning & an end,

we know that for each individual

this all, one day, 

fades away

as they close their eyes,

never to open them again.

That is really all we know 

with certainty,

beyond that, all is theory,

hypothesis, possibility.

So in between the beginning & the end--

be it short or long--

celebrate!

Celebrate

each cry of birth,

each sigh of death,

the unfolding story--

remember it's a story--

create it

mold it

weep with it 

laugh with it

embrace it

love it,

and when it is time to move on,

sink into peace,

fly without fear,

there is perhaps (the highest of possibilities!)

a new story to begin.