Every living thing dies.

Dragonflies

Mindful of my dying, and taking aim, I am inspired by a fable. 

“There is a colony of water bugs living in a pond who get along wonderfully. They all understand each other and work well together. There is only one thing that really puzzles them all. Sooner or later, as bugs get older or become sick, they find a tall reed in the water and climb it. The other bugs do not know why they just climb up and disappear.

One day, the leadership got everyone together to figure this out. They made a pact- promising that whoever climbed a reed next would come back and let everyone know where they had been.
A little time passed and unexpectedly the chief found himself climbing the reed. He was so excited. When he got to wherever he was going, he would come back and tell the others all about it. When he got high up in the water, above the rest of the colony, he suddenly found himself going out onto a leaf and spinning a soft shell around himself. Well, he thought, when I get out of this, I will go and tell them. He rested for a long time and then, for some reason, he found himself removing the soft coating. When he emerged, he struggled still upward and found himself breaking through the top of the water.

What exhilaration! There was a whole new existence up here. He found that he had wings and could float freely above the water- soaring and gliding. With great joy, all his friends that had climbed the reed before him welcomed him! He asked them about this new place and was told that he had died as a bug, but was now a beautiful dragonfly.

All of a sudden, he remembered his promise- to go back to the rest and tell them where he had gone. He looked down and saw the waters surface. Ok, he thought, I must dive down and let them know. The other dragonflies warned him against it, but he had promised. With resolution, he dove- but when he hit the water, he bounced off. He tried again and again, but could not find a way through the surface of the water. Exhausted, he floated on top watching the colony below knowing there was no way he could reach them.

In time, he realized that even if he could go back, they would not recognize him, now that he was a dragonfly. So he did what all the other dragonflies had suggested- begin his new life, knowing that sooner or later all of those below would understand.”

~Author Unknown