Dream of:
15 May 1997 "Old Friends"I was thinking about life after death, having a horrible thought: that when people died, they simply ceased to exist. The thought was terrible; it made me extremely uncomfortable to think I could simply vanish when I died. Yet I couldn't deny that this was a distinct possibility. I had recently heard of two black men who had died and then after a short time come back to life. Neither man had remembered having experienced anything while he had been dead. I had heard that the same thing had happened to the rock musician, David Crosby, that he had died for several days, and then had returned to life without remembering anything that had happened while he had been dead.
It almost made me feel sick to think that death could be the end of everything. But what proof did I have that death wasn't the end? Still, I couldn't bring myself to believe that death would be the end. I knew I had often discussed this question with people who thought death was the end. I certainly hoped that they weren't right. At least I could take solace in one thing: if they were right, they would never be able to crow about it, because if death were the end, they would never be able to prove it, because when they died, it would all be over. If I however were correct, I would be able to claim victory after death. If I were wrong, I would never know I was wrong, for when I died I would cease to exist. Thus I didn't see how I could lose by believing in life after death.
When I finally broke out of my reverie, I realized I was in the office building where Leland had his law office. I had once shared a law office with Leland for several years. But it had been a long time since I had seen him. After I had moved out of his office over 4 years before, we had lost contact. Now I had decided to stop back in and pay him a visit.
I walked in the front door of his office and saw Leland's wife,
Susan, sitting at the front desk, working just as she always had during the years I had known her and Leland. Christmas decorations were hanging all around the room, and I recalled that Leland and Susan had always been big on Christmas, unlike myself who had no special affection for the holiday. Nevertheless I liked the Christmas spirit, and it seemed to add a cozy touch to the atmosphere. I was happy to see Susan and I spoke to her. I was glad I had decided to drop in, and I thought I should be more appreciative of people in my past with whom I had once been friends.As I looked around, I nostalgically wondered what it would be like to once again practice law here. I could probably make $10,000 a month. That didn't seem like so much money anymore. Since I had started playing the stock market, I sometimes made more than $10,000 in a single day.
Copyright 2005 by luciddreamer2k@gmail.com
