“In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond; and like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring. Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity. Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid on him in honour. Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?.. Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling? For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered? When the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.” --Kahlil Gibran, as quoted by Peter B. Graham, June 17, 2008.