On Death
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
Kai and I had our first conversation about death a couple of weeks ago (just after his birthday). It started because there was a spider on the wall. He gets a little freaky when he sees a live bug sometimes. This time was no different. I told him not to worry about it and sent him on his way. When he wasn't around, I killed the spider, but as we were in a hurry to get out the door, it was left where I smacked it. We went in to town for shopping. Some time after arriving home, Kai noticed the dead spider.
Kai: Bug not moving. Bug not moving anymore (as he picks it up).
Me: No, the bug is not moving anymore. (It was now that I saw an opportunity to discuss death. So I took it) The bug is dead.
Kai: *perplexed look*
Me: You know when your toys stop moving and we say that the batteries died? Well, when the bugs stop moving, they died.
Kai: **processing**
Me: When a bug dies, it stops moving. When batteries die, your toy stops moving. (I explain it one more time in another slightly different fashion)
Kai: **still processing**
Me: Do you understand?
I could see him put all the pieces together and make the connections. After a slight pause he nodded with a look of understanding and said, "Yes". And that was it.