A Few Thoughts on Death

 Death is commonplace here. There have been two or more funerals in this community every week that I’ve been here. People’s response to death is something along the lines of, “it’s just a part of life.”

I have only been to six funerals in my entire life. It doesn’t matter where you live, you can’t escape death but it is a much less noticeable part of life in Canada—especially for the average person my age.

“Loss is what gives love meaning, what makes time precious. Without contrast, there is no color.” – Jedidiah Jenkins

I’ve been sheltered from death for most of my life but I don’t want to live like death isn’t real. Shit happens. It helps that I believe in eternity, but that doesn’t mean that our present lives don’t end. Belief in eternity doesn’t fully remove the impact of death. I want to live with eternal perspective and I want that perspective to remind me to love more deeply.

Witnessing the way people live here I have learned that a true understanding of death inspires love, not fear or anger. I attended a burial today and it was one of the most joyful experiences of my life. There was dancing like nothing I've ever seen before. There were times when I literally couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

I think Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to think about the frailness of our lives. Today is the perfect day to start loving the people around you more deeply.

If you’re reading this… I love you! Feel free to enjoy one of those single’s blizzard’s from DQ on my behalf. I’m pretty sad that I’m missing out on what sounds like the best ice cream creation ever. Since there’s no DQ here I’ll just be cherishing the memory of the last ice cream cone I had before leaving Canada… it was a good one. I’m sorry for ending this semi-serious blog with a paragraph about ice cream. It just sounds so good right now. Guess I’ll go eat some beans. You might have ice cream but Canadian beans don’t got nothing on Ugandan beans and American akahunga doesn’t even exist. You don’t even know what you’re missing out on… just be lucky you don't have to wash it down with obushera (aka local beer). Trust me, obushera is nothing like a good Canadian local beer. It's made of fermented sorghum flour and when you finish every sip there is grit in your mouth.  

[One a more serious note: There’s a lot to think about with regards to death and human rights in places like Uganda. Maybe I’ll put a little more thought into a blog on this topic in the future.]

Some more of what has been inspiring me lately:

“Love the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die. And you will have a window in your head. Not even your future will be a mystery any more. Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer. When they want you to buy something they will call you. When they want you to die for profit they will let you know. So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute. Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it. Denounce the government and embrace the flag. Hope to live in that free republic for which it stands. Give your approval to all you cannot understand. Praise ignorance, for what man has not encountered he has not destroyed. Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest. Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold.

Call that profit. Prophesy such returns. Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years. Listen to carrion - put your ear close, and hear the faint chattering of the songs that are to come. Expect the end of the world. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts. So long as women do not go cheap for power, please women more than men. Ask yourself: Will this satisfy a woman satisfied to bear a child? Will this disturb the sleep of a woman near to giving birth? Go with your love to the fields. Lie easy in the shade. Rest your head in her lap. Swear allegiance to what is nighest your thoughts. As soon as the generals and the politicos can predict the motions of your mind, lose it. Leave it as a sign to mark the false trail, the way you didn’t go. Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection.” —  Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front, Wendell Berry (via ropeandsaw)