Ultimate Playtime

DEATH

The word death conjures up many emotions for many people.

Depending on our culture, upbringing and experience with death, we will react to the encounter in a certain way.

The Oxford Dictionary has some pretty gruesome and negative definitions of the word death, including "Lack of Spiritual Life."

Some other descriptions of the word are: end, loss, demise, bereavement, fall, collapse, ruin, downfall, and many more like words.

As intense as they sound, the connotations of the word death and its descriptions can be used in either a positive or negative fashion: "Is the glass half empty or half full?" My point? Well if we think of the word death with fear in our hearts, then perhaps the negative connotations will make more sense, the demise of a loved one, the collapse of a great empire, the end of a life etc. However if we think of the word death with hope in our hearts, then we may have a more positive outlook at the word: the end of sadness, the demise of a cruel ruler, the loss of innocence to gain knowledge etc.

As a person of Aboriginal blood, I am more inclined to think of death as just another step in life. I can share with you my observations: for instance, when I have taken clients out on a hike in the mid to late fall, some of them have commented "they believe they are not seeing the Rockies at their best, because the plant life is brown and dying or dead, they would really love to see it when it is lush and green and beautiful." What they don’t know is they are lucky to see the actual beginnings of next year’s growth. Without this death, we cannot have renewal and regeneration. This restful period is truly magnificent if you let go of your ego, and choose to wonder at nature’s incredible design for life and its continuance.

Death simply is a chance to renew what needs to be renewed. In fact, by our own hands we help the process of nature by killing to be kind. In the National Parks, we use fire to re-establish an ecosystem tired and overgrown by flora of little use to many of the animals, which inhabit it. Fire can also re-introduce much needed nutrients to the soil and allow for the growth of certain plants that have long been choked out by competitor plants (who also, by the way, do have an important role to play).

Death can also signify the end of a phase of life that is no longer working for us ~ in our mental, emotional, physical or spiritual aspects. Death is the catalyst for growth and opportunity if we choose to allow it to be that for us.

Even the loss of a loved one can bring about a positive change in our lives. On a personal note ~ a close member of the family died several years back, which was a devastating loss to us all, and particularly to his wife. She had depended on him for so many things, and was now afraid to do a great deal of things in life (that she would not have enjoyed were it not for him). His death seemed to put all that to a stop because he was no longer there to encourage her to partake in these activities.

However, she realized how attached she was to him, and because her pain was so great she knew she needed a lot of support; and went out to family, friends and support groups, who helped her through a difficult period in her life. Today she is a very independent and active person who has learned to enjoy life to the maximum. A person who once was so terrified of death herself is now living life as though each day is the best one she’ll get.

So as I walk through a forest at each of its life stages, I appreciate its circular beauty. When we walk hand in hand in between life’s beginning and death we walk on a sacred path.

By Brenda Holder