For the memory of your father William Ryan. May he Rest In Peace.

Life and death are one, even as the river and sea are one

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;

And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.

Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity...

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and melt it into the sun?

And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb,

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Kahlil Gibran