The Aerie
Three Little Pumpkins
Dio de los muertes. All Saint's Eve. Hallowed Evening.
In the tarot, death signifies change. To children, death is an
incomprehensible abstraction. Unless a loved one has died, when it's
an overwhelming aching hole that never quite closes. To adults, at
least in the West, death is a foe to be held at bay for as long as
possible.
But we rob death of its nobility at the same time. Even as we struggle
incessantly against it, we deny it. Like Perseus fighting Medusa, we
battle Death without looking at it.
Other cultures treat Death quite differently. "In rural Italy,
cemeteries are like parks where the survivors picnic and tend the
graves," says Camille Paglia. And Mexico celebrates "The Day of the
Dead" in a variety of ways, many quite expressive and colorful. In
some areas of Oaxaca, the spirits of the deceased are guided home from
the cemetaries by bonfires built on the street corners. Within the
home, a path of cempasuchitl flowers guides the soul to their personal
altar.
And our necrophobia isn't healthy. Carl Jung said, "Shrinking away
from death is something unhealthy and abnormal which robs the second
half of life of its purpose." But we're not the only ones with
counterproductive attitudes towards death. In China, one participant
in an online discussion posts, "Unlike the westerns, who consider
death as a natural and inevitable thing, Chinese people give an
unnatural meaning to death. If someone is dead, we will blame that
there is problem with the Fu Shan."
The world seems to be providing a message to be learned regarding
death. Adding to recent events, Warren Zevon appeared on the Letterman
program tonight, He was the only guest, and performed several songs in
a sort of a farewell performance. He didn't look too bad, but I guess
it's ony a matter of time.
Of course, the same is true for all of us.
His attitude on the topic was positive, but a little too flip, making
me wonder if he isn't still strongly in denial about his condition. If
not, then he's come all the way around to a profound degree of
acceptance.
My own attitude is closer to that which Jung decries. I can't claim
any notable capacity to understand death. I've been fortunate, really.
Only my Uncle John among my relatives has died. And while a few
friends and acquaintances have passed away, I can't say that I was
there when they died in any sense. So I think I have a lot of learning
to do about Death, and it colors my attitude with ignorant fear.
And I'm not interested in learning anything more anytime soon, thanks.
But maybe I can take some lessons from my kids. They'll go out tonight
and extort candy with empty threats, without a thought for the Big
Sleep waiting for all of us eventually. To do otherwise would waste
time that could be better employed filling pillowcases.
They don't really fear death -- they don't care about death, in just
the same way that the presently don't care about politics or sex,
either. Maybe that's the lesson to study -- that death is an
irrelevance. You only get one night to fill your pillowcase with
candy, and moping about what happens after the candy is gone, well,
that's just missing the whole point.
[1]Last
Posted by Albatross at October 30, 2002 11:58 AM