Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush, I am the swift uplifting rush

of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not sleep.

Watching a peaceful death of a human being reminds us of a falling star; one of a million lights in a vast sky that flares up for a brief moment only to disappear into the endless night forever.

The caterpillar dies so the butterfly could be born.

And, yet, the caterpillar lives in the butterfly and they are but one.

So, when I die, it will be that I have been transformed from the caterpillar of earth...

to the butterfly of the universe.

You can shed tears that she is gone, or you can smile because she has lived. You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back, or you can open your eyes and see all she's left. Your heart can be empty because you can't see her, or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday, or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday. You can remember her only that she is gone, or you can cherish her memory and let it live on. You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back. Or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.