The circle of life includes death
You might recognize the above words as part of the lyrics from the Elton John song “The Circle of Life,” from Disney’s The Lion King. At the office yesterday, we had a real “circle of life” moment, bringing front and center what has become the cultural definition of the circle of life:
Every living thing is born and every living thing dies.
The day started with a celebration of the birth of healthy twin girls to one of our employees. The previous evening, they had been featured on a news story about the Kangaroo method of pre-term infant care, being used at one of our local hospitals. As you can imagine, those who saw the video oohed and aahed their way through it. So darn cute! Mom and Dad looked happy. The babies are healthy. All is well.
Less than 30 minutes later, another employee was called away from work. Her six week old grandson had passed away early in the morning, apparently from sudden infant death syndrome. This news had the opposite effect; tears, sadness, and sympathy for the teammate who had been visibly filled with joy since the birth of the baby in early February.
The circle of life. As the song says, despair and hope and faith and love. Every living thing is born. Every living thing dies. We just don’t expect a child to be among us for only six weeks.
Don’t pass up a chance to hug the child in your life. Be fully present to the blessing.
image from thecircleinhamptonroads.ning.com
Tags: Compassion, Family, Happiness, Health, Peace
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