Rumi was a poet and spiritual leader born in 1207 in Afghanistan. He is known for his insightful poetry about life, death and love. If you’d like to read more about him, here is a good link:
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/jalal-al-din-rumi
Below is a beautiful Rumi poem I recently came across. It reaffirms my feeling that death is not the end we think it is.
When I die, when my coffin is being taken out,
You must never think I am missing this world.
Don’t shed any tears, don’t lament or feel sorry.
I’m not falling into a monster’s abyss.
When you see my corpse is being carried,
Don’t cry for my leaving.
I’m not leaving, I’m arriving at eternal love.
When you leave me in the grave, don’t say goodbye.
Remember, a grave is only a curtain for the paradise behind.
You’ll only see me descending into a grave, now watch me rise.
How can there be an end?
When the sun sets, or the moon goes down, it looks like the end,
It seems like a sunset, but in reality it is a dawn.
When the grave locks you up, that is when your soul is freed.
Have you ever seen a seed fallen to earth not rise with a new life?
Why should you doubt the rise of a seed named human?…
When for the last time you close your mouth,
Your words and soul will belong,
To the world of no place, no time.
-Rumi