More on god and death
October 11th, 2006
As I walked into class yesterday our instructor was telling the group about a Hebrew myth that essentially says that in the beginning god was everywhere, but in order for creation to happen he had to make space and so he withdrew. This was a teaching she finds useful and representative of how you must be in order to serve the dying. In order to be there for them you must withdrawal from the immediacy and emotionality of the situation. While I believe that I understand what she means I do not agree that this is a Truth. The Mystery that leads to Truth is that the Infinite Unknowable First Cause cannot cease to be infinite and is therefor present in Its creation. It has not withdrawn from us but made space within Itself to encompass us. This is selflessness–though saying that is in and of itself an oxymoron. I suppose rather that it is self-fullness, but that’s a difficult word (if it is actually a word) and an unusual concept for western minds.
Withdrawing is not the answer. We must make sufficient space within our Self to allow for the experience of the dying person. This is an act of adding something, not taking it away. We also have infinte room within our selves if we are willing to work to find it. In this way we are like to god.
Otherwise session three was like a big group therapy session and it was very interesting. We went around the room taking turns sharing an experience we had or didn’t get to have with a dying person. The last three of us didn’t have time to share our stories but we will be given time for that next week. It’s an interesting mix of people with an interesting set of stories to share. Some were about parents and grandparents, both positive and negative experiences. Two people shared stories about premature babies that had died in their presence. All of the stories were quite touching. It was an interesting strategy to use. By having us share our pain and our joys we each learned and grew as a person and in emotional strength from the sharing.
My sincerest hope is that I will learn much from the dying. Not only for my own benefit, but to have something to give back to the Pagan community as well.
