<<I cannot fathom being indifferent to the prospect of all that you loved, all that you strove for, end in dust and ashes. >>
But that doesn't happen. You know your beloved children, and theirs, and theirs, will die; but you hope you gave them something that they will give, and that those to whom they passed it on will pass it on....
If you thought all you valued on earth, all love and art and beauty and goodness and sweetness and fun and funniness would pass....
well, it would be terrible.
But if you feel that the aspects of you that you most value will continue in others, in those descended from you and those not, except "spiritually," then... all is well. This life is just your turn to embody those qualities or live those experiences.
Neither of my atheist parents had any fear of death at all. My mother even said, at the end, "Don't worry about dying, E. It isn't very hard." |
