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Mu'Min M. Bey

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Mu'Min Bey mumin_bey

Eulogy for Mom

Mon, 21 Oct 2002 03:35:19 -0700 (PDT)

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In-232B698C86D6D411AF7700508BF9368A081BFBB8

Eulogy for Mom

Delivered by Mu’Min M. Bey

Monday, October 21, 2002

 

I would like to thank everyone for coming out today,

and in particular, I would like to give a special

thanks to everyone who has been a rock of strength and

a fount of assistance to me and my family at this

time. On behalf of my entire family, I greatly

appreciate your generous and heartfelt outpouring of

sentiments.

 

Of all the many milestones that can and often do occur

in one’s existence, like marriages, the birth of

children, and family reunions, it is perhaps the

funeral that is the most profound of familial and

community event of them all, and I would posit that it

isn’t necessarily because of our sadness of the loss

of the dearly departed; rather, it is because such

events are times when we take an accounting of

deceased’s life, as well as our own, for it is through

the deceased’s life that we catch a glimpse of our own

mortality. It is but one of the many fundamental

Truths that defines the finite nature of our

existence.

 

Over the years, as a result of many of the people here

in attendance today, I have had the great fortune to

learn much about this thing called Life, to see it

from many angles that, had I not come into contact

with any of you, I wouldn’t have this perspective

today, concerning death. I have learned, that the

passing of someone is not so much about the actual

event itself, but what they did with the Time they

were allotted in this world, how they used that Time.

It’s like the poem I heard once called “The Dash” –

that it matters not when a person was born or when

they die – all that matters is the “dash” between

those two dates.

 

Such an idea becomes clearly apparent to those of us

that are Scriptural readers and have an appreciation

for Divine Knowledge; all of the Holy Writs, from The

Bible, to the Eightfold Paths of Buddhism, to the

Bhagavad-Gita, to the Holy Qur’an all acknowledge

God’s Ultimate Plan for each and everyone of us, and

the nature of the Universe at the same time. Thus, we

fully understand what is meant in the third Chapter of

Ecclesiates, its mention and explanation of the very

nature of Time itself.

 

The Book of Ecclesiates speaks of the Seasons, and the

appropriate natures of each; and, as we gather today,

we see that the leaves are turning colors, from lush

green to golden brown, the air is much cooler, the

days shorter. The Fall has long been acknowledged as a

“death” of sorts for the year, a time to wind down and

take stock of things in preparation for the Times to

Come. As we all sit here today, pondering the “why” my

Mother departed when she did, I understand that, like

the Seasons, that it is all part of a larger Divine

Plan.

 

Over the past week I have spent much time pondering

exactly what it is that I can take from my Mom’s time

here, her “dash”, if you will, to make mine even

better. To be quite honest, I could come up with much

more than the ones I will mention today, but I think

these, in my humble opinion, are among the most

important of her attributes.

 

There are 3 major Lessons that my Mom taught me, that

I would like to point out and expand upon:

 

1. To be a Stand-Up Person – My Mother always said,

“always be a Leader, never a follower; stand out from

the crowd, and stand up for yourself”. She told me

those words when I guess I was about 10 years old, and

I can remember them as if she said them yesterday. My

Mom was one that didn’t, as the old saying goes, “take

any tea for the fever”, she was a stomp-down, stand-up

Sista that didn’t take no mess of anyone – and she had

a beef with you, everyone was gonna know that Ms.

Jackie wasn’t havin’ it. It’s where I got both my big

mouth – and my principles – from.

 

2. To be a Humanitarian – I don’t think my Mom would

call her herself one, but that is exactly

what she was to the many people that knew her. In both

her professional capacity as a nurse and in her

private life, she was always there to lend a helping

hand, no matter what. I can recall many of my and my

sister’s friends not wanting to go back home, because

my Mom was so cool – and she was often a Confessor to

those same young people, who could come to her and

discuss things that they never could with their own

parents.

 

 

One of my Mom’s all-time heroines was the late

Princess Diana of Wales, and she was devastated by her

untimely death. I find it particularly interesting

that both of these women shared the same name, for my

Mom’s middle name is Diane. Lady Di was known for her

many efforts to assist people from all walks of life,

and used her talents and resources in that direction,

to such an extent that upon her passing, she was

hailed as The People’s Princess. If Lady Di was the

People’s Princess to England and the World, then my

Mother surely would be The People’s Mom, to all that

knew her.

 

 

3. And lastly, I think the most important Lesson my

Mom taught me was to have a Good Time. My Mom loved to

dance, to listen to and enjoy good music, and I

remember going to the little record store with her up

on Chelten Ave in Germantown long ago. We would get

all of the songs that you now hear on Tom Joyner’s

Morning Show - Confunktion, The Brothers Johnson, The

Isley Brothers, Diana Ross and so on. But there were

two singers that both my Mom and my cousin Betty-Ann

just loved to death – Barry White and Teddy

Pendergrass. In fact, they looked up to and admired

these men so much that I used to try to imitate their

voices in the bathroom as a 10 year old kid in an

effort to use them as pick-up lines to the little

girls at school! I will always remember that huge

all-in-one Hi-Fi with the disco lights that flashed in

time to the beat of the music, and I will always

remember my Mom dancing up a storm. For all of her

work with people, for all of her assisting others, she

always took time out to cut a rug and, along with her

Partner-in-Crime Betty-Ann, to cut-up.

 

 

I want to say to my Siblings, that you should not

grieve for Mom, but rather, remember these things

about her, and honor her by picking them up

yourselves; there are plenty such good memories to

come. Continue to keep in well-doing, for in due

season you will reap the benefits of those actions, if

you don’t faint. I know this is what I will do.

 

And so, finally, I would just like to wind up this

talk today, with the following words, from perhaps the

Wisest Man of Them All:

 

Who can find a Virtuous woman? For her price is far

above rubies. The heart of her husband does safely

trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

She will do him good and not evil all the days of her

life. She is like the merchant’s ships; she brings

food from afar. She rises also while it is yet night,

and gives meat to her household, and a portion to her

maidens. She stretches out her hand to the poor;

indeed, she reaches out her hands to the needy.

Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall

rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with

wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She

looks well after the household, and eats not the bread

of idleness. Her children rises up, and calls her

blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. Many

daughters have done virtuously, but you exceeds them

all. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a

woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give

her the fruit of her hands; and let her own works

praise her in the gates.

 

Thanks, Mom.

 

Now, in the words of Ms. Jackie, “Let’s Party Harty!”

 

Salaam,

Mu’Min Mustafa Qadir Ali Bey

Philadelphia, PA

October, 2002

 

 

 

=====

Mu'Min M. Bey

Western and Vedic Astrologer

mumin_bey

AOL IM Screen Name: JediMu

2Way Pager: 1-877-345-6499/8773456499; Cell phone:

267-978-2812

Join the Pan Astrological Forum, Where Freedom in Astrological Thought Lives!

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