A black Pomeranian named Toby came in to the vet’s office for grooming.
When I went to take him outside for a walk, he got stubborn. He didn’t want to go! He set his little fuzzy feet and would not walk with me. I don’t drag dogs by the leash, so as I always do with small stubborn dogs I just picked him up and carried him to the outside door. He griped and groused the whole way, protesting that he didn’t want to go. Then I set him down in front of the door, and when I opened it… there was OUTSIDE! Sunshine, fresh breezes, green grass… he trotted OUTSIDE looking very pleased, and I said “See? I was taking you somewhere nice.”
Death is like that, I think. We kick and fight, and as the poet Dylan Thomas says “…do not go gentle into that good night… Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” But in spite of our most violent efforts the light does die, and we die. Then God carries us away, sets us down, and says “See? I was taking you somewhere nice.”
–from the upcoming book “How to Wash a Dog” by Julie Ford