VII
A deep connection to nature has served humans for thousands of years to approach, understand, and grieve death. Record of our attempts to appreciate this ultimate and inevitable process are scattered throughout the history of our species. Our collective understanding of death has been enlightened only more recently by our understanding of biology and physiology, and has developed in the context of our evolving psychology and faith.
Animism, the psychic predecessor of modern religions, was widespread throughout hunter-gatherer societies across the world. It establishes the general belief in the “animation of all things natural” – that all things (flora, fauna, plants, rocks, even weather events) have intentionality, or a vital force, that can influence human lives. This pervasive psychological construct ultimately led to human belief in the after-life, development of shamanism, and ancestor worship. With the Neolithic revolution came the development of high gods and more organized religion. Over the millennia, as our spirituality has continuously evolved, so has our language to describe it.
In modern times we have developed the ability to reflect upon and eloquently describe death through writing and art. As described in his unpublished journals from the 19th century, the great John Muir commented, “The rugged old Norsemen spoke of death as Heimgang-‘home-going.’ So the snow-flowers go home when they melt and flow to the sea, and the rock-ferns, after unrolling their fronds to the light and beautifying the rocks, roll them up close again in the autumn and blend with the soil. Myriads of rejoicing living creatures, daily, hourly, perhaps every moment sink into death’s arms, dust to dust, spirit to spirit-waited on, watched over, noticed only by their Maker, each arriving at its own Heaven-dealt destiny. All the merry dwellers of the trees and streams, and the myriad swarms of the air, called into life by the sunbeam of a summer morning, go home through death, wings folded perhaps in the last red rays of sunset of the day they were first tried. Trees towering in the sky, braving storms of centuries, flowers turning faces to the light for a single day or hour, having enjoyed their share of life’s feast-all alike pass on and away under the law of death and love. Yet all are our brothers and they enjoy life as we do, share Heaven’s blessings with us, die and are buried in hallowed ground, come with us out of eternity and return into eternity.”
It is in observing modern views of death that we begin to appreciate the historic and fundamental need for us as humans to process it. The separation and disconnect we feel when losing a loved one has always been devastating. As personal and societal beliefs on the matter continue to change at an emotionally blistering pace, it can challenge our simplest ways to approach it. For some, it may prove noteworthy to reflect on our collective past. Connecting with the simple story of an ancient shaman and his family may provide an example, and underscore the importance of re-connection.
Coastal Plain 