Reflections
on Life and Death
Two
Coffins
Two
coffins: one for me, and one for our civilisation
Two
imminent deaths….two endings….
A
reminder that in a short but unknown time all will be over.
Two
coffins celebrating that we are NOW alive
And
filled with awe and gratitude
For
the beauty and the terror of it all.
Hallelujah!
The
simple truth is that everything dies – nothing lasts forever. I
will die, and the civilisation that we are part of will die.
The
biggest question is when. For me, now approaching my 71st
birthday, any day could easily be my last, and my death will almost
certainly come within 30 years, probably much sooner. Our
civilisation is facing an even earlier death, with rampant, now
irreversible climate change, leading to unbearable temperature
increases, droughts, and crop failures, making the end likely much
sooner, possibly in as little as 5 or 10 years.
And
why the coffins?
First
to make both approaching deaths more real to me and to others, and
to challenge us all to appreciate more fully every day. Hallelujah,
an interjection of joyous praise, expresses my joy at the privilege
of being alive at this complex. challenging and exciting time.
Secondly,
decorating the coffins has helped me clarify what is important to me
and to our civilisation, and enhanced my gratitude for life.
Thirdly,
I now have the security of knowing that when I die, circumstances
permitting, my body will be cradled, transported, and cremated in an
object of beauty made with love – for me a final protest to our
over-industrialised world.
My Coffin
The top is an attempt to summarise the wisdom I have learned from life. The sides are the things that have been of greatest importance to me. The head and foot panels are my two homes.
Coffin for Civilisation
After having made my coffin, I realised I also needed a coffin for our civilisation, to help me prepare for the end of much or all of man's creations. This
coffin is only symbolic, as civilisation, even in death
cannot be confined to a single container, in contrast to my own coffin which is made to hold my body, and probably to be cremated with it..
The coffin for civilisation will hopefully alert
others to the fragility and now very limited life span of our
civilisation, in the hope that they can work towards their own
personal reconciliation to our fate, and see the beauty, as well as
the terror of our ending. Mankind has thoughtlessly destroyed our
home in many ways, and we must now reap the consequences of our
greed.
Similarly to my own coffin, the top summarises my response to the coming death of civilisation in a single word, Hallelujah, that contains all my awe and wonder at all the beauty and creativity mankind has been able to express in this world, the wonder of being alive - and the amazing way that we are destroying it all - some of which are noted around the outside. The sides represent many of the ways the earth has supported humanity, including the unseen mysteries which add such richness and meaning to life.
If you would like to explore further ideas that consider the possibility of a near-term end to our civilisation in light of current scientific knowledge, a good place to start is https://guymcpherson.com/ Guy is probably one of the most outspoken people from his concerns that most scientists are not clearly putting together all current information on the coming effects of climate change - but he is far from alone.
