World, Stop!

I have always naively wondered why the world and everyone in it doesn't stop and take notice when someone dies. A life has ended, a light has gone out, a song has been silenced, hearts are broken. How can the world just keep going on without a glance in our direction?

My sons had to deal with the loss of their paternal grandfather last week. As I witnessed their pain and grief, I found myself once again wondering why everything just didn't stop for a while. My children were in pain and I couldn't do one thing to make it better. That is such a helpless feeling. They've dealt with the deaths of both of my parents, but this one seems to have hit them a bit harder. They are at the age now when they can truly understand the finality of death and possibly even their own mortality.

I know in reality that everything cannot just come to a standstill when someone passes from this life. It would just be nice to think that it could. I suppose knowing and understanding that others in the world must deal with the same grief, countless times daily, should be some consolation. But is it?