Finding yourself....at a funeral

At 10:47 am today I found myself carrying a dead body into a church in Northern LA. Seeing as I'm not a mobster or a mortician, one wonders why exactly I would be in that position (aside from the attention grabbing headline). Truth is, I was attending the funeral of a friend's father, was nabbed by a priest because I'm " a strong young man" (at least I think that's what he mumbled), and was carrying a casket up into the church. Being 2 feet away from the body, then listening to the subsequent eulogy got me thinking about life though, and the opportunities and adventures it affords.

(This is where 10% of the audience thinks, "Geez, Ryan, quit analyzing it. You're only 27, and a lousy philosopher at that." The other 90% quit reading when I mentioned I was carrying a dead body into church. If you've made it this far, kudos.)

In the movie "Dead Poets Society", one of the opening scenes is Robin Williams showing his class pictures of previous graduating classes from 50 years previous, and urging his students to "Carpe Diem", or sieze the day as they are few. A true statement, given the fact that life goes by in a blink, and you may find yourself suddenly approaching an age milestone wondering what the hell should you do with your life. It really is that simple, Williams-esque statement, as if you squeeze as much as you can out of every day, you'll probably lose some sleep, and little else as you end up where you're supposed to be.

Ironic that it took a funeral to remind me of that life fact.