I was listening to a recent Radiolab podcast discussing the afterlife by way of 11 different meditations on the subject. One of the short stories really got to me. In Metamorphosis, the author imagines that each person dies three deaths: first, when the body ceases to function; second, when the body is consigned to the ground; and third, at that time in the future when his name is spoken for the last time. Until all three occur, the soul waits in a lobby of sorts, filled with long tables, food and drink, and many other people. As names are spoken for the last time on earth, a P.A. system calls souls to pass to the other side.
In general, I like this idea, mostly for the emphasis it puts on the remembering of people who have passed away. I haven't experienced a lot of deaths in my life, but those I have experienced have been extremely significant. I want to remember my mom, my grandpa and grandma, my uncle...much more often than I do, and out loud. I want my children to know about them: what they looked like, what kind of people they were, what made them laugh, and how much they loved others in their lives. I want them to know that just because a person isn't with us anymore, it doesn't mean they've been forgotten.
I have some ideas about putting this into practice, and maybe one of them will involve this blog.
What do you think of when you think of the afterlife? Do you remember people who are gone in the way you thought you would?
What do you think of when you think of the afterlife? Do you remember people who are gone in the way you thought you would?
Awfully heavy thoughts for early in the morning! I will have a comment but need to think it over first. Meanwhile, keep boxing items... Dad
ReplyDeleteYeah, thinking about people who have died and talking about them are different. I definitely think about the people I've known who are dead a lot more than I talk about them...
ReplyDeleteI speak of my father and brother Joe more than I thought I would. All in ways of lovely remembrance...a song, a smell, a cap - well you get the picture!
ReplyDeleteLove you both, good luck with the move! Aunt Maura
Only took me a month to get to it (too busy painting at daughter's places!) but here goes: I was brought-up Christian, and always operated through faith alone that heaven existed. Your mother's death, and the experiences that followed, left me with the knowledge that people don't really die, but seem to step-over a fine line, and are still close by. A simple statement, but huge when experienced... there's really nothing to worry about.
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