Friday, June 15, 2007

What to tell children about death when you can't pacify them with heaven?

On one front I will agree that theists have an edge: When a child asks them about dying they can chirp, "Oh, it'll be awesome! You'll see Granny and Grampy and Rover again and live with them for eternity in the warm glow of Jesus. No worries!"

But we naturalists do our best. I try to emphasize the preciousness of the life we do get when "teachable moments" arise. For example, my son and I were in our pool the other day and he watched quizzically as I spent a good ten minutes trying to help a frantic struggling bug out of the water:

Kid: Why are you doing that?

Me: It's a brave little bug. Look at it trying so hard to survive. It's the most intense drive we have, survival.

**Success! The bug is delivered to the grass, where I will no doubt mow over it later...**

Kid: Some people say there's another life after we die.

Me: Yes, they do.

K: I don't believe them.

M: Well, me either.

**we grin at each other for a moment**

K: But it does suck. You're just gone, you don't know anything or feel anything...how can that be?

M: No one's ever been able to tell us for sure, but I assume it's very much like being asleep. You just don't wake up. Listen, you're right. It sucks. I wish it weren't so, but think about it this way: What would the earth look like right now if nothing died?

K: **thinks** We'd all get pretty old and twisted up.

M: Ha! True. But also, where would we sit?

K: Oh. I...don't know. It would really fill up, huh? *resigned sigh* That's nature's way.

M: Yep, that's nature's way.

3 Comments:

At 4:34 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Really well handled. Well done

 
At 8:11 PM, Blogger Rees said...

Thank you, hon. That's very nice of you. :)

 
At 11:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is a tough one for me, lately.

As an adult, I was pretty well set in my belief, or lack thereof, that God is a fairy tale and the promise of an after-life was something real only in a Prince song.

But then came Jackson and all the sudden I needed, badly, to believe someone, somewhere could do something to make it better and even more so after the fact, I have found a peaceful comfort in believing Jackson is somewhere, anywhere better and is well looked after and cared for; I know in my heart these particular ''beliefs'' apply only to Jackson but the comfort is undeniable.

Really, impressively well handled. For real.

 

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