Weekly Recap; 5/19/25-5/25/25

It has been an interesting week with many emotions. Some amazing time with family and travel to familiar destinations. 

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There were many neat Nature observations. Including mushrooms, Red Eft Salamanders, a Scarlet Tanager and many other birds recorded on Merlin. 

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Seeing the mountains is a majestic experience. One that offers a lot of healing. The location is Hancock, NY. 

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The reason for our visit? We all came together to spread the ashes of my stepfather David Benedict. Who grew up here at the base of this mountain. 

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Those close to me know that in the last two years now, our family lost three great people. My Grandma, Papa and Stepdad. 

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It has not been easy, but there has been a ton of personal growth and bonding with loved ones. Death has put good perspective on Life. 

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What is really important to me? 

In no particular order; family, friends, Nature, travel, fishing, art, music, good food and health. 

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Time in Nature may be the most helpful thing to my healing from all the loss. Mother Nature has no judgments. She just is what she is and you have to accept that or else you suffer. 

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That is life, resistance is suffering. As outdoors people, when going out into Nature we prepare for what we might face. The forecast calls for rain? Well, you better bring your rain jacket! 

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What about in life? How do we prepare ourselves for big life events? 

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Throughout this all, most have said to me, “You can never be ready for the loss of a loved one.” That does make a lot of sense to me. However, I feel that is also because we have a disconnect. Not to paint with a broad brush, but most of us are afraid of death. That includes myself at times. 

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There are several thoughts I have on this. One aspect is that we do not properly mourn our loses. We take a few days or weeks, follow what is generally accepted, then go back to “normal life” which is absurd. We all process loss differently which makes it hard to talk in broad terms. 

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Death is often a sad event for us. Of course, it is sad, but it is also other things. It is Beautiful, the one you loved is no longer suffering in this human experience. Is that not a positive? Belief in an afterlife provides us some security too that there is something more. 

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It really is all about perspective, as is everything. We can view death with fear or as something to look forward to. It can be, “I cannot believe they are gone.” and also, “I am glad they are no longer suffering and I cannot wait to reunite with them.” You see the biggest link is our attachment to what is lost. We often focus on what is lost and not what is gained. 

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How many have heard of stories of warriors going into battle ready to die, eager to die for something of value. If we take this view, I feel it shows a different side of death, not one I want to experience but one that can offer great insight. 

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If Death is the end of all suffering, than is that not something to look forward to? Not necessarily something to chase, but rather to know it, that way we can live our lives to the max without the fear of death holding us back. To live like you were dying has more meaning now. You could die, so live as much as you can. This is not the same for everyone, but no matter what your fears are, death can show us to conquer them instead of running. 

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Some irony that has not been lost on me. One of my stepfather’s favorite songs was ‘Live Like You Were Dying’ by Tim McGraw. When we would listen to it he would usually have a deeper talk with me about the importance of life. Little did I know he would have been the person in the song who got diagnosed. With how rapidly things progressed, I don’t think David did all he wanted to, clearly. 

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He did manage to get out into the woods hunting his last season, and harvest a deer at that. In the years prior David harvested animals consistently. From whitetail deer to black bear, he always provided meat for himself and the family. Not that we relied upon that as our only food, but it is larger than that. In this modern world, what he did was symbolic of what was once sacred. 

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God does have a plan. It must be so because somehow, in David’s life he got to visit almost every single state, travel to multiple countries, four kids, two grand kids, hunt every single year, fix, build or repair pretty much anything under the sun. His life was busy and jam packed, that is the way he was, always on the move, but hey now I know why. He had a lot to do before he had to leave early. 

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Hopefully many of those who read this can resonate and find some healing in my words and stories. 

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Enjoy the photos below! 

Tight lines and catch ya soon! 

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Jordan H. DiVirgilio