Another One Bites The Dust

Anyone tell me what this is on one of my lettuces?

It's the one certainty in life, other than taxes. We hear about it every single day on the news. We are the cause of it for all the creatures and plants we consume, as well as the many insects we swat, squish, accidentally step on, flick off our shoulders or clap between our hands (or attempt to). And yet if you're reading this, you've never actually experienced it yourself and for most of us the very thought of going through it is, well, almost unthinkable.

Death. It's quite the fashionable subject around these parts. The local priest chose it, with apparent trepidation, as the subject for his sermon. It must have been on his mind as he had three funerals to conduct within the space of a week. A “Death Cafe” is being run on an occasional basis in Machynlleth, which advertises itself as an “opportunity to discuss thoughts and feelings about death, dying and the end of life times in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.” And the monthly “Pub Philosophy” group's topic this time was also death - “Why Should We Fear Death?” the question posited for discussion.

My asparagus are long and thin

This latter meeting was one that Anna and I decided to attend. It was our first time at Pub Philosophy. I'm not sure I have ever sat around with a bunch of people talking about our own deaths before. It generally isn't considered a polite conversational gambit: “So, how do you feel about your approaching demise?” It was very interesting to hear people's different opinions, expressed openly and honestly. I was put on the spot a little as the group leader knew I am a Christian and would therefore have an expectation of an “afterlife” which most of the others did not. But even with that hope of something better, the sheer unknown-ness of it still makes death an unnerving prospect, to say the least. 

A vacated blackbird's nest, hidden in one of my firewood stores

Having a forum to talk about your own death does at least make you think about it for a bit as it forces you to consider what you should be doing with the life you have. When you're in the middle of living, trying to cope with all that life throws at us, the end of it all can seem remote, even abstract. If someone close to us dies, however, we may be suddenly hit by that brutal no-longer-there nature of death and our own eventual demise might seem more tangible. We'd then perhaps be grateful for having a local Death Cafe to talk it through.

So, a cheery blogpost this wet Wednesday. Next week, taxes.

Quinoa!!