From time to time, I would flip open the book and see the leaf has withered. The veins are the vascular tissue of the leave and they have interesting patterns much like our finger prints, and even more interesting when we look at it on a cellular scale. Leaves, like humans, actually shrivel and shrink in size as they wither. So it is interesting to occasionally flip open the pages to see the drying process as the colors disappear, the veins become more visible.
However, it isn't actually interesting to see a human wither and shrink in size as they start to pale. The flesh and fats slowly disappear as the food intake reduces, the skin slowly wrapping what's left revealing the skull outlines.
Very often it is heart-wrenching to see a love one lie in bed, not being able to do anything for him/her or at least you want to try but there is only so much you can do if you are caught in a "damn if I do, damn if I don't" situation. Prolonging the suffering or giving more time; to have the living keep their way of life or to have them dwell on what-ifs.
As we saw how Fiesty Charmaine's mother celebrate her death, we often wonder how much courage this woman has. She carried on living for her son, for her love ones. Her journey with Charmaine was tumultuous, nothing short of being a war on death, to prolong the inevitable. Her blogs are full of surprises and very often I wonder how she survived the ups and downs. The swings could easily kill the faint-hearted. Same as Steve Jobs' passing, we realised that lives are worth celebrating and everyone should live life to the fullest and fulfill your every wish/goal, so that there are no regrets; that the living can grow stronger celebrating one's past.
Grief yes, but don't let it keep you down from living through the withering process. Observe the journey of the veins and how interesting they were being part of your life - the living shall remember, shall grow and live on with memories.
