I am puzzled.
That we are wayfarers, on our journey through life, should be self evident to all. And what befalls us on that journey to the only end possible cannot ever be known. It is just when the thought of the inescapable end and its immanent arrival that one is brought up short. This is especially so with a person one loves – in my case my wife, Magucha.
Many are the thoughts I’ve had over the purpose of “Life” and the fact that “Life” is expressed in so many different forms – estimated at somewhere in the region of 8 million. That of course excludes the unknowable number of bacteria that also inhabit the Earth.
Needless to say, I am no nearer arriving at an answer, as the answer can never be known.
But, one thing I do know is that somewhere in “Life” is lodged the “human spirit” – however this is defined – that shines through as a beneficent force in human interaction. This human spirit defies definition. It is apparent when and in whom it appears. It is not attached to physical beauty, or physical strength, or intelligence, it just “is”.
And this human spirit is wondrous to behold. I know that the passage of time tends to distort some memories and remembrances but when it comes to Magucha they are still quite sharp. You see, she was dauntless (I never saw her afraid of anything) and her kindness and willingness to help other wayfarers she met on the road of life was an inspiration, certainly to me.
She was quite diminutive in stature but, however, once you got to know her, size did not come into it – her intelligence and personality shone through like a beacon. Because she had survived serious illness and several near death experiences she lived for each day and, seemingly unconsciously, had taken to heart the Biblical instruction, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself” (Matthew 6:34 in the English King James Bible).
She was utterly fearless and, when it was brought to her attention, would fight unfairness or injustice with a ferocious intensity and singleness of purpose. Her most enduring and endearing qualities, however, were her kindness, her generosity of spirit and compassion. Magucha subscribed to the belief that we are wayfarers all, on the journey through life, and she was always prepared to give a helping hand to those who stumbled while on that journey. She seemed to shed a loving and kindly light and many were attracted to that “light” which gave warmth and comfort to those in need and good counsel to those in distress.
All this, to me, is an example of what I understand the human spirit to be. Like tempered steel, the “fire” of Magucha’s personal experiences and the blows life dealt her seemed to make her emotionally stronger and strengthen her resolve.
For all this I respected and loved her dearly. She was just sixty-two when she died but then as the Ancient Greeks proclaimed, “Those whom the Gods love die young.”
