Mortality and Loss

How then shall I think about death?  . . .
I will try to understand my grief as a measure of my gratitude.
And when I have occasion to consider the fact of my own death
I will attempt to think large. . . .
I will affirm that all lives, no less my own,
are instruments of life itself.
And by these measures I will submerge the absurdity of death
in gratitude for the wonder and wisdom of life.
Loyal Rue

A serenity is on offer
in letting go of the concept of endlessness.
Ursula Goodenough

Death can be frightening and a cause of deep and lasting sorrow. It can also seem mysterious, as it can be both comforting and unsettling to feel how, in memories and dreams, a sense of the departed can remain.

Ancient burials are the earliest signs of something religious and, as has occurred in varied ways in different traditions over time, religious naturalism can help people understand what happens and why, and cope with mortality and loss.

Links

What happens, and why . . .

Ursula Goodenough. “Religious naturalism offers two responses to human death. . .”
Tom Clark. “Death, Nothingness, and Subjectivity”
Sherwin Nuland. How We Die.

Some views on endings and continuation
Ronald Dworkin. “The Romantic poets said we should try to make our lives into works of art.”
Symbolic immortality

Understanding and coping with grief
Stages of loss (Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler) 
Beyond stages of grief
Grief in animals
Secular advice for caring for the grieving
Online group: Grief beyond belief
…..A talk by the group founder, Rebecca Hensler

Funeral services and “a final resting place”
Elements in services
Poems and quotes
Woodland burial

Photos: Ben Rushton and Courtney Sacco

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Religious Naturalism

Taking Nature to Heart

A worldview grounded in science that provides a foundation for a way of being in the world that is both inspiring and  personally rewarding.