On a cold,
windy day, I passed two older people braving the bone chilling conditions. They
were standing over a grave. I wondered who it was they were ‘visiting’. I found
it touching that they were brave the inclement weather to remember someone. A
parent, a child perhaps who died young. They say that is the greatest stress of
all, having a child die before you do. There is the story of a rich man who
came to a temple and asked the master what the secret to happiness was so that
he could purchase it. “Such a thing is not a secret, nor can it be bought“ said
the master “but I can tell you what happiness is; Father dies, son dies,
grandson dies." The rich man became angry. "What kind of stupid
answer is that?" he demanded. “I asked you for the secret to happiness”!
The teacher calmly explained, "If your son died before you, would that not
grieve you greatly? The man nodded his head. “If your grandson should die
before your son, both of you would be broken-hearted. If your family,
generation after generation, passes away in the order I have named, it will be
the natural course of life. Would there be a greater happiness you could
have?"
