Love is Stronger than Death

Emmanuela Okot

April 26, 2016

Love Is Stronger Than Death

Common objects can often evoke powerful memories. For Opal Ruth Prater, it was a shirt that belonged to her late husband. It reminded Prater of the beautiful life they shared, and how her love for him is as strong as ever – even 15 years after his death.

            Opal Ruth wrote a this I believe essay looking back at her experience with the loss of her husband. She spoke about the grief that she felt when she would look at the shirt that her husband wore every day when he would do yard work and spend time with the kids outside. She spoke about the days without him being with her and hearing his laughter. She reminisced over the nights they spent just talking to each other and laughing at random things. She talked about how she reached a level of acceptance with the death of her husband. She still has his memory living on with her; she still has days where she hears his laughter throughout the house. His death brought on tragedy but she realized that his life affected her and her children's life more than his death. She believes that love is stronger than death, and I find this to be a very interesting philosophy for her to live by.

            I personally believe that love is a very strong part of a person's life. The definition of is a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person. Many people have different definitions for love some see it in a romantic manner and some see it as a thing that is shared with all humans.

            My own philosophy of love is based off of life experiences. I believe that in love you will experience pain, loss, and death. I believe that love and death are one in the same because for both of those experiences you feel extreme emotions. When you experience love you experience extreme happiness and sometimes sadness. When you experience death you have feeling of extreme grief and melancholy. Both these experiences have similar feelings and emotions. I believe to go through life you have to go through these emotions and learn how to deal with them.

            In Opal's this I believe essay she went through all these emotions and came out understanding and accepting of her husband's death. She remembered all of the good times that they experienced while he was alive. "I believe that as long as I am alive, Dusty’s memory will live in me. I see his eyes peeking out at me from my grandson’s face. I find something of his spirit in each of our children." These things help a person move on and cope with the death of loved ones. As long as her and her family keep his memory alive the love that they had for him will live way past the years of his death.

            To finish off Opal said "And sometimes on a warm fall day, I catch that outdoorsy scent of fresh air and sunshine, and my face is buried in Dusty’s shirt once more. Although I know he sleeps, I hear his shout of laughter somewhere just ahead, and I think he waits for me.

I believe that love is stronger than death."