CJ

I've always been rather cavalier in my attitude towards death. I don't want a funeral. I don't want to be buried or entombed. Burn my body, dump the ashes, order a cocktail and say a toast to me.

That's it, you can go when you've finished your drink.

I can say this because I've lived long enough to have studied some religion here, and a bit of philosophy there, and come to my own conclusions. The main one being that no one really knows what happens when we die.

Fear is the mind killer. Fear is when one doesn't know what will happen next, and there is a nagging suspicion that what does happen next won't be pleasant. I happen to like the unknown. I like learning about things I've never seen, places I've never been. Death is the ultimate unknown, so why would anyone with an inquisitive nature be afraid?

The flip side is for other people. I don't know if they are looking down, counting how many people showed up to the funeral, or interdimensionally sitting next to me, bored out of their metaphysical skulls and wondering when the ceremony will be over so they can get some peace. Maybe they really are in the celestial version of Ibiza, having a good ol' time and not even caring what goes on when they check out. Some might say I am being disrespectful, but I say respect life. Celebrate the lives of our dead friends and family. If, as many say, the dead are in a better place, then why sit around crying about it? Mourning is being selfish about how you won't ever see someone again.

Like I mentioned earlier, I've been able to formulate these opinions during the time I've had in this life, but now, with the death of a child, those opinions are in question.

Colin James wasn't even a month old. He didn't get to form any opinions. He hadn't learned to walk, or to read. He never tasted cheesecake, tied his own shoes, or said "Mama." What does that mean? What is the sum total of a fortnight and change of life? Is this one of those times that we are supposed to say life is short, and we don't know how much time we'll have so spend it wisely? Grab Life by the Reigns! Live Life to the Fullest! Semper Fi, Do or Die!

Let me get this straight: two people, still hardly more than kids themselves, decide that they will turn their lives upside down and inside out. Their family and friends will turn their lives topsy turvy and oogly boogly. The mother will endure the strain & discomfort, and the joy & beatitude of pregnancy. Finally, a beautiful, innocent new life will get the most fleeting of glimpses into our increasingly crappy little world. All this so a few people learn not to take life for granted?


I'm not buying it. I want a better answer than that.