In the presence of life

Yesterday a group of friends and ourselves had the opportunity to bear witness to an acquaintance's final moments.  This person is someone whom we have carpooled with numerous times to Wednesday nights and as a result of the two hour roundtrip journey have spent a significant amount of time with.  She is nearing the end of a fight with cancer.  As we discussed going I told the HyWy that I was somewhat nervous and scared having not been in the presence of a person in this position, but at the same time I acknowledged that whether I was scared was irrelevant we were going to provide peace and comfort for someone as they prepared to transition.  I was incredibly moved by the entire experience during which this person was asleep the entire time and we listened to her spiritual friend explain what she was going through.  I realized how incredibly humbling it is to be in one's presence at that moment in their life as they are sharing (consciously or unconsciously) the final moments of an entire lifetime with our little group.  To see someone so physically weakened, but (from what I'm told) mentally very strong and cognizant means to me that she is aware that people are seeing her at her most vulnerable.  I don't know if everyone would be willing to be seen in their most vulnerable moments, but I realized that the benefits of being surrounded by good people outweigh the discomfort at them seeing you in that moment.  I know for certain that we will find ourselves in this position again in our lifetime and I hope it is not anytime soon, but I take comfort in the fact that I learned a lot about life and that will help me the next time around.