Death...what happens next?

Parker Palmer is an author I've appreciated and respected for many years. He is now approaching 80 and his recent book is called On the Brink of Everything.

It is really a collection of essays on various aspects of ageing. The section I found most thought-provoking include his thoughts on what happens when we die:

"I learned long ago how much I do not know, so I won't be shocked if death has surprises in store for me. But amid all my not knowing, I'm certain of two things: when we die, our bodies return to the earth, and the earth knows how to turn death into new life. When my own small life ends in some version of wind and fire, my body will be transformed by the same alchemy that keeps making all things new, witness this wilderness. [Note: Palmer makes an annual pilgrimage to a remote area called Boundary Waters where he observes nature's rhythms.] As the medieval alchemists dreamed, dross will be turned into gold.

        It matters not to me whether I am resurrected in a loon calling from the lake, a sun-glazed pine, a wildflower on the forest floor, the stuff that fertilizes those trees and flowers, or the Northern Lights and the stars that lie beyond them. It's all good and it's all gold, a vast web of life in which body and spirit are one.

        I won't be glad to say goodbye to life, to challenges that help me grow, to gifts freely given, or to everyone  and everything I love. But I'll be glad to play a bit part in making new life possible for others. That's a prospect that makes life worth dying for.

       Twenty annual pilgrimages to this holy place called the Boundary Waters have convinced me that Julian of Norwich got it right: 'All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.' "

Like Palmer I am more and more aware of what I don't know. I certainly don't claim to know what happens when we die. Traditional notions of heaven and hell may serve a metaphorical purpose but they don't serve me well in any definitive way now. I'm not saying I agree - or disagree - with Palmer in what he writes above. But I am drawn to his observation that "our bodies return to the earth and the earth knows how to turn death into new life." I certainly believe in resurrection - but exactly what that means or looks like I really don't know. I am happy to trust the Creator of this marvellous universe to maintain the flow of life - death - life. If nature is "God's other book", as has often been said, it is constantly putting that reality before our eyes.

Small drops of kindness, justice and blessing...

I often mention the Gratefulness site. This morning I was attracted to a Blog with the heading You are Me and I am You I hope you take the time to read it. Here's just one quote:

"Every time you replace hatred with love, overcome your nagging desire for the umpteenth ‘last’ drink, replace your usual biting retort to your companion with silence or – why not – kindness, you are helping all those on the planet struggling with the same challenge, be it in an infinitesimal manner. Which drop of water constituting an ocean is unimportant? The longest mile is made up of many inches."

In some intuitive way we probably know this is true but so often my small drop of kindness can feel so insignificant. If I take one step towards justice by quietly speaking out when a casual conversation veers towards racism, it may seem to fall on deaf ears. Yet millions of drops create a river of kindness and billions of inches eventually circumnavigate the globe.

The writer of this Blog is someone I've never heard of but he has written a book about praying blessings for ourselves and others. He says: "There is hardly a moment in life during which it is not possible to bless. In the street, on the bus or underground, at work, at home with your companion or family, your silent blessings will uplift and heal."

The more well known known author, John O'Donahue, has also written a Book of Blessings so maybe this Biblical practice of blessing others is being rediscovered as something that really does carry spiritual substance.

Of course, like any spiritual practice, it can become rote and done without heart. I cringe a bit if someone says "Bless you!" as a throw away comment. But sincerely wanting the person I pass on the street, or the barista in the cafe, to feel warmed by an unseen blessing is one of those drops in the ocean of love. I expect I will fail many times every day (in the same way I 'fail' many times to stay focussed in twenty minutes of meditation!) but when I do remember it will change how I am towards others and we will both be blessed.

Three signs of hope - before breakfast!

I don't know about you but I sometimes find watching/hearing the news rather depressing. Of course I know the media tends to focus on the dramatic, tragic and violent end of the spectrum. But it can be hard to hold hope that there are genuine alternatives alive and well in our world.

I'm happy to tell you that I was immersed in three powerful signs of hope - before eating breakfast today! Here they are:

It was very cold this morning so when I woke up I decided to stay warmly in bed for a bit longer and listen to a You Tube clip of Brad Jersak speaking about Universal Hope. It was an excellent correction to the depressing end of the spectrum and had me getting out of bed smiling! He makes a thoughtful distinction between 'universalism' and 'universal hope'. His talk is 40 minutes long so choose a time when you can settle in.

If you happen to live in Auckland there will be a day with Brad Jersak at Trinity Cathedral in Parnell on July 20th. Click here if interested and scroll down in the events list. I highly recommend Jersak's book: A More Christlike God; A More Beautiful Gospel.

Next I did my usual quick skim on Facebook and came across a very exciting clip (4 minutes) of a range Church leaders in America offering a hope-filled perspective on what a Christian approach to life (and politics) means. This was stimulated as a corrective to what is currently being spoken about by the US President and many right wing Christians who often call themselves 'Evangelicals' but definitely don't offer good news. Click here  (another 4 minutes, wait a few seconds for video to load) to see how 2,500 people joined these leaders and marched to the White House to express this confession of faith which they called Reclaiming Jesus. 

Finally I turned to the book I'm reading currently as my "spiritual reading": The Great Spiritual Migration by Brian McLaren. I am up to a section about "social movement theory" - which sounds a bit daunting but actually turned out to be fascinating. Just one quote: "When institutions fail us... members of a community arise, organise and confront the institution by forming a movement. ...Movements organise people to articulate what's wrong with current institutions and propose what should be done to make things right."  This, it seems to me, is what is happening in the church leaders initiative, and by other groups mobilising to stand up for what is right. This gives me a lot of hope. Maybe having blatant disregard for honesty, human rights and justice daily "in our face" is generating enough awareness to give rise to positive change. May it continue to be so!

Even in winter...

Between the rainy, windy days 

there is still beauty 

if you go out and enjoy it!

One thing leads to another...

I love the way one thing leads to another.

Or to put it another way:

in the marvellous interconnectedness of all things

what I didn't even know I needed

pops up at exactly the right time.

A recent example:
A group from our church have been meeting to discuss a podcast series called The Bible for Normal People. 
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Two people talked about it to me.
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I don't go to the group but I thought I'd listen to one of the podcasts and started with the first one - Rob Bell on What is the Bible.
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 I was impressed with his animated and refreshing 'take' on reading the Bible so
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I borrowed the e-book from the library.

(The wonders of technology! I was reading the book on my iPad the same day I listened to the podcast - which was recorded in 2017. Whew! How quickly we take all this for granted.)

I was brought up on the Bible! 

I have read it devotionally, 

studied it theologically 

and written Bible study notes on it for Scripture Union. 

Yet I am freshly excited about the Bible right now -

thanks to: 

Rob Bell⇒those who recorded the podcast⇒the person who set up the church discussion group⇒the two people who talked about it⇒the technology that allowed me to listen and⇒borrow a free e-book.

Do you see what I mean about one thing leading to another?!

Singularity

I found this poem very thought provoking and moving. To hear it read aloud by its writer and see it in its original context - the Blog Brain Pickings - click here.

SINGULARITY
by Marie Howe

(after Stephen Hawking)

Do you sometimes want to wake up to the singularity
we once were?

so compact nobody
needed a bed, or food or money —

nobody hiding in the school bathroom
or home alone

pulling open the drawer
where the pills are kept.

For every atom belonging to me as good
Belongs to you. Remember?

There was no Nature. No
them. No tests

to determine if the elephant
grieves her calf or if

the coral reef feels pain. Trashed
oceans don’t speak English or Farsi or French;

would that we could wake up to what we were
— when we were ocean and before that

to when sky was earth, and animal was energy, and rock was
liquid and stars were space and space was not

at all — nothing

before we came to believe humans were so important
before this awful loneliness.

Can molecules recall it?
what once was? before anything happened?

No I, no We, no one. No was
No verb no noun
only a tiny tiny dot brimming with

is is is is is

All everything home

This YouTube clip doesn't say  exactly the same thing but is similarly profound and challenging to our usual perspectives.

Inspiration and Joy

I read a lot! The books I like best are those that bring inspiration, challenge and motivation towards are more courageous and joyful life. (It takes courage to be joyful sometimes.)

I happened upon this inspiring book recently in our local library:

"A powerful, emotional memoir and an extraordinary portrait of three generations of Tibetan women whose lives are forever changed when Chairman Mao’s Red Army crushes Tibetan independence, sending a young mother and her six-year-old daughter on a treacherous journey across the snowy Himalayas toward freedom." I was truly inspired by all three women in the different challenges and risks of each of their lives. I gave it five stars!

I've mentioned this book on my Blog before (click here):

This morning I decided to start re-reading it. The connection between the two books is interesting. Everyone featured in both books faces great challenges which can, and do, bring heartache, devastation and loss. Yet all in their own way face "life as it is" with courage and draw on spiritual practices that anchor them in a deeper reality. 

Morning walk...

Feeling grateful for the peaceful expanse of beauty to start the day.

Marvelling at houses built on crazily tilting cliffs!

Glad that I didn't ever meet this jellyfish while swimming!!

Family Collage

The occasion is a celebration of Merrie and Marty's 80th birthdays in 2018.

Large photo l-r: Tanya, Carla, Sarah, Marty, Merrie, Morgan
Side top to bottom: Peter and Merrie, The four of us, Merrie and Marty.
Bottom l-r: Andrew and Sheila, Sheila and niece Sarah, Merrie and Marty

Casual family brunch next day! 

Johan, Tanya, Nicky.  Andrew, Lynn, Sheila

Andrew, Lynn. Marty, Merrie, Peter.

The older you get...

One branch of my family used to have a joke about "We'd better take a photo. This might be the last family photo we get." But of course the older we all become it is less a joke and more a reality! So I was very glad to be able to make it Tauranga to celebrate my sister and her husband both turning 80 and celebrating 56 years of marriage! No small achievement in both cases!

It was touch and go whether I would make it as both Anthea and I have had health problems recently. We seem to have taken turns at spending a night in hospital with Atrial Fibrillation. (Very common I am now discovering!) So right up to the Friday before Saturday's celebration I wasn't sure I'd make it. But wonderfully  I was able to catch a ride (and a spare motel bed) with my niece Nicky who was also taking my brother Peter and his wife Gwenyth. Anthea stayed at home for a peaceful recovery weekend. 

Considering the appalling driving conditions both days I am extremely grateful that we weren't driving ourselves! Here's the Karangahake Gorge on our return trip:

It is always very special to have all four of us siblings together in one place. Last time it was two years ago at Peter's 80th birthday. Here we are at Merrie's 80th:

Hmm the obvious question is ... will I live to 80 and if so who will be around? These aren't morbid questions for me. But a reminder to value every day and all of my family and friends.

I might post more photos later...

I'm adding this comment in 2019: It turned out that this was to be the last photo of all four of us together as Andrew died six months later. (See On Being a Pallbearer)