The fragility of life

I was riding home from my friend's house the other night and bumped into a work colleague not seen for a while. She looked pretty down, asked how I was, said I was great thanks and then she told me that one of the girls from work's boyfriend had been killed two days earlier. The tragic cruelty of this was that he had been over in Iraq for 8 months and had come back earlier that week to the UK to spend some time with his family and friends.

There is something so terribly sad about this scenario and I have been in a kind of shock about it ever since. I'm not really sure why, as on one level, I do have faith that in the scheme of life, there is a plan for all our beings and that he still exists, but just in another form. Maybe the universe needs another angel. In the darkness there is light.

But right now, that doesn't seem to be enough because people are grieving over the loss of a young life. A future that will never be. He won't be able to be hugged any more. His mum will have to bury her child. It all seems so ridiculous that he got through 8 months in a war zone and then came back to the safety of England and the life is over in seconds.

I guess the dealing is for the ones left behind and supporting them to be kind to themselves, giving themselves time to take it all in. It's often after crises like this that people start to find their true path and change direction and become over time happier, more fulfilled beings. That our sadness carves the cup that can then be filled with joy.

So, for everyone who is dealing with or who has dealt with tragedy or loss and not knowing how you will carry on, may the angels be with you and bring you peace.