Impermanence

When you die, your presence falls away. You leave the earth and the image fades. We who remain are left with your essence.
-Merdith Monk (quoted in SF Chronicle interview)

I was taken with this statement, which can be taken in a number of ways and doesn't seem to conflict with the many belief systems that people have, whether they be religion based, spiritually based, scientific based or totally agnostic.

I think we get so caught up in disputing belief systems, perhaps with good cause when those belief systems seem to spread such disaffection and violence into the world, that we kind of forget that there is a unique human element to all of us that is only here for a very short time and we should be working on the essence of that being here each day rather than squabbling about who gets to go to heaven, or if one even exists.