For When I am no longer able to Speak

Joan's Journal
"The 'Last' Entry"
(Written in 1997)

I who hope to climb the ladder and bring down Fire, I pray to the Divine, I pray to the divine in you. Can you hear me? We are not island universes. Underneath, the rock bed unites us all. Can you hear me? JAL, 11-30-97

I don't know when my 'last entry' will happen. I hope it is many decades in the future, when I may have filled half of webland with files. That 'last entry' may end my journals in an odd spot, abruptly. Therefore, I am writing this for the days when I no longer will be able to speak. Whether some spark of myself will go on to ignite some other life isn't known. What is known is that the entity known as Joan Lansberry will no longer be. And all that will remain will be the results of what I've done while I was alive.

And in those days when vocal chords are stilled, I hope that which I've set to print will long chime. It is a dream which gives me hope. For I have so loved life and I want that love to go on. In the end, it doesn't matter what your creed was, it only matters what kind of person you are. So believe in the Gods, or don't believe. Follow that path which the highest good within yourself calls you to.

Follow that path, or beat your own way through the untraveled bushes. But along the way, never lose your sense of wonder. Stop to smell the roses. Inhale deeply their fragrance. Look towards the sky. Is it not beautiful in all its moods?

Look towards each other. See the highest good in all you meet. Magic is what you make it. Never lose the spontaneous joy. For this is the dance of life. Join then the ever-widening spiral and dance with light feet. For if there is a God, She rejoices only if we do. Sorrow will come, it is part of the cycle. So cry your saddest tears with all the strength you can muster. That strength will enable you to rise again. And claim your beauty with gentle hands. Love will strengthen your wings and you will soar to the highest places. Now trust your tired limbs.

So although the time will come when I must say "Goodbye!", never forget I have lived my whole life long each day in one grand "Hello!"

Embrace Life!