"But we all know death is inevitable, don't we?"
"Knowing the truth and accepting it are very different things. A classic example is the story of Kisa Gotami, who could not accept that her young son had died. Clutching his lifeless body, she went from neighbor to neighbor, begging for medicine to cure him. One man took pity on her and said, 'I don't have the medicine you need, but I know someone who does.' When she came to me demanding the remedy, I sent her off to collect a mustard seed from every house in which no one had died. Empty-handed after a long search, she realized that death is universal, and was finally able to accept her loss. At the same time, she learned that there's a path to the deathless — to nirvana — for those who let go of their attachment to life."
An Excerpt from Coffee with the Buddha by Joan Duncan Oliver
from: http://bit.ly/dfakOI