Baloo

My favorite dog in all the world has left this world for good. Baloo!!!

Someone said that death comes in threes. Well, this week it seems to have come in fives. My friend’s sister passed away. Another friend’s research participant. My friend’s grandmother and Osman’s cat. Of course a grandmother or sister seems a more painful loss than a cat but death affects us all differently and some are more sensitive than others.

I have been thinking a lot about death this week. I don’t really believe in heaven and hell and so it’s hard for me when someone goes. My Mongolian friend told me that when a dog dies, his next life is a human. Unfortunately you are supposed to cut off his tail to make the transformation easier. I don’t know if I believe in re-incarnation. For one thing, there are more souls alive today than ever before. Population has exploded, so where do all the new souls come from? Maybe we have become diluted. The same volume of “soul” is in the world, but it has to be divided among more bodies? I am not sure.

My friend (who has just lost his grandmother) told me that he thinks that death is a kind of parting gift from the deceased to the living. When someone dies, it brings together the family of the deceased and makes them cherish life all the more. At the end of the day, only love is left. Nothing else matters. 

I do believe that when you lose someone you love, you can take them with you in life. You have to make room for their souls in your body. You have to remember why you loved them and take their best qualities in.

Baloo was probably the sweetest friend I ever had. She was so gentle (and occasionally cowardly); she was forgiving and loving; she was always happy to see a friend. I know I am not as forgiving as her. I know I am not as selfless and loving, but in the spirit of Baloo, I am making room for her in myself. I will take her with me.