Racing Time

By Carmen Eli

Occasionally, death reminds you of its constant, never ceasing presence. It speaks through close calls on the highway when a semi cuts in front of you when an earthquake just misses your town when the house next to yours gets robbed by a man with a gun. We live in a dark world, filled with horrors that daily threaten our survival. So many tragedies strike that we have taught ourselves
to become numb to pain. In small ways every day, we are reminded how short life can be, and how abruptly it can be taken from us. As we race through life to find meaning and purpose, death is chasing after us, getting closer and closer. Every once and awhile, it gets so close that it graces us with its cold, outstretched fingers, causing a chill to pass through our body. Death is ever-present in our day to day tasks, biding its time, waiting for us to make a fatal error, or to push unavoidable doom our way. However, every once in a while, we are sent a tiny sunbeam through the dark, abysmal clouds that shroud our lives. This beam touches the top-most part of our heads and seeps into our hearts, keeping death at bay. Sometimes this ray of light takes the form of intuition, sometimes through luck, sometimes through miracles. It can tell us to be patient, to wait for the light to change before crossing the road. It can remind us at our lowest points that life as a whole is eternal, and can be kind. Above all, it gives us the courage to begin a new day, to face our fears of the unknown. It takes many forms, and goes by many names, but is most commonly known as hope.