Life’s Fragility When we’re young, we rarely think about dying, but there are times in everyone’s life when the shadow of mortality looms over us. Perhaps we almost ski off a mountain or barely survive a car crash. A friend our age might get sick and die. For a moment, we are shocked into remembering: Oh, yes, our bodies are fragile. Anything could happen. Soon enough, though, we dismiss that worry, for who can continually walk along that fence? We must jump off, run around on solid ground, raise chickens, repair engines, fight tyranny. There is so much to do, to see, to say, to dream. We haven’t time to…
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On Being Human
Being Human as Being Set Apart What does it mean to be human? Although a few individuals are born with limitations or predilections or capacities different from the bell curve’s norm, people throughout the world share certain traits. We all have a consciousness that recognizes our selfhood, bodies that experience pain and pleasure, and minds with the capacity to notice, to interpret, and to draw conclusions. Most of us long for intimate connection and supportive community. At times, our emotions get the better of us, especially when our instinct to survive is threatened, and all of us can feel threatened by the most benign thing if it touches on our…
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Death and the Death of Balder
It Began with Balder It is unusual for gods to die. Even the Titans, the original Greek gods, who were vanquished by their Olympian offspring, remain alive in Tartarus, a cavernous hell that serves as their prison. Gods that do perish are resurrected. Isis traveled the world to collect the pieces of her husband, Osiris, so she might put him back together, and he might be reborn. The Aztec deity, Quetzalcoatl, after waking up to discover that, while intoxicated the night before, he had cavorted with his sister, felt such remorse that he set himself on fire, burning to ash. Out of this death, his heart rose to the heavens,…
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The Courage to Face Our Inner Pain
What Is Courage? It is human to long for greatness. As psychotherapist Edward Tick notes, we “hunger for heroism.” [1] We want to know that we, too, can be courageous. What better way to test our mettle than in battle? Young men and women enlist in the armed forces for many reasons, but if we didn’t yearn to prove ourselves, war probably wouldn’t be possible. Governments might start wars for political or economic reasons, but if no one signs up to fight, there can be no battle. Therefore, the military has to convince the young that being a soldier – or a rebel or a terrorist – will make them…
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Lament and Creating Justice
A Year for Lamentation What a year this has been. In January, the Hong Kong protests were news. That same month, bushfires in Australia killed millions of animals. Later, the House impeached President Trump, and the Senate acquitted him. In Yemen, a civil war broke out. Then the pandemic hit, George Floyd was killed, and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations erupted. Hurricanes and fires destroyed wilderness and devastated communities. Kobe Bryant died, as did John Prine, John Lewis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and others. We are reeling. Lament is a totally appropriate response. The term “lament” may bring up images of professional mourners wailing and carrying on as they stumble along…
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Ash Wednesday and Opening Our Hearts
Ash Wednesday My mother, who died in 2015, has been turned to ash. The remains of her cremation sit in a box on a shelf in my room. The ashes aren’t her, nor do they symbolize some essence of her nature. Still, I’m in no hurry to spread them across the scattering ground at the cemetery where she bought a place to rest. One day I will do so, when I no longer need her quiet reminder that I am destined to end up as ash myself. Whether we are talking about the dust out of which the Hebrew God formed us or the carbon created in the belly of…
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Our Plans and God’s Laughter
The Ultimate Joke As others before me have said, death is the ultimate joke. [1] At birth, and for years afterward, we imagine we have eternity to walk, sing, and build towers of metal or of ideas. We scurry through our lives, hoping to make a difference to at least one person, to touch and be touched. We have dreams, and some of us manage to fulfill them. Yet even fulfilled dreams are not the end. Indeed, death’s absurdity may be hardest for those who complete what they set out to accomplish, for when they reach their destination, there’s nothing left. To keep going, one must find a new goal.…
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Accepting Death
The Monarch and the Milkweed Adult monarch butterflies spend the spring and summer in the United States and Canada. There they sip nectar from wildflowers and search for milkweed plants on which to lay their eggs. The glycoside toxins in the plants’ leaves, to which the monarchs are immune, collect in the body of their larvae, remaining in their fat and muscle for their entire life cycle. Research is mixed on how much protection the poison actually provides the insects. Does the bright orange of their cloak, veined by black and speckled with white dots, warn potential predators of their nasty taste, or is that a coincidence? Is the butterfly’s…
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Luke, Transformation, and Preparation
Preparing for New Life Her initial preparation took years. At first, she didn’t realize she was preparing for anything. All she noticed was a niggling dissatisfaction. Over time, however, that discomfort grew, forcing her into a deep introspection, invisible to those who pressed against her in the packed train during each evening’s commute, or sat beside her at meetings as they discussed the sins of poverty, or ate lunch with her, danced with her, smoked pot with her. While those around her continued their mindless distractions, she searched within her heart and spirit with a merciless resolve. In the end, she concluded there were better ways to build a life…
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Chance, Randomness, and the Fault in Our Stars
The Elusive Nature of Randomness Our universe is ruled by randomness. Not that we generally acknowledge that. Most of us believe in a powerful and purposeful divine being who plans events, guides our lives, and has a mission for each of us. It’s hard for us to understand the world any other way, for our minds see patterns everywhere. We naturally create meaning out of chaos. As Leonard Mlodinow explains in his book, The Drunkard’s Walk, randomness and chance are common, yet we still imagine we can predict the future and control events that cannot be controlled. We downplay the way fortune – or misfortune – impacts our lives. [1]…