Explaining Death.....

CrazyHedgehog · 10-19-2007, 05:53 PM

When i was growing up we had a few deaths in the family, grandparents, aunts and uncles,family cat and hamster, all in a short period of time,

my mum sat us down and explained death in her own unique way....

As we have had a few members lose a pet lately I thought I would retell the story in the hope it gives some comfort as it did with my siblings and I as children!

so here you go.........

Bill, Ben and Bob are two dragon fly lavae, every day they have a whale of a time, chasing each other around their little pond. The pond they live in is just the best! it has a great number of roots to hide in, squishy mud at the bottom to play in, fish to talk to, other worms and a huge variation of food to choose from. daily life was just play, play play.
What could be better?
But one day, Ben floated towards the surface of the pond, Bill and Bob teased him for a minute as he went too close to the top... but he stayed at the top......
They called him down, but as he seemed to empty at the surface he just called back saying it was his time and he had to go....
and a shell of his former worm fell to the bottom.
Bill and Ben were distraught...
But then they noticed that other worms just seemed to end their time and float to the surface...
They talked about it...
They both decided that if either of them got the urge to go through the surface that if it was ok, then they would come back to tell the other.
The days went past....play play play....
Then one day, Bill got an uncontrolable urge to push through the surface....he couldn't help himself, and despite Bob calling him back, he had to go...
"Its all right" he called down to Bob " I will come back and let you know what its like"
**************
Bill awoke....he stretched his wings....
WINGS... wow, he tried waving them... he was.....he was... wow he was swimming in air...and ....OH MY.... the pond had been dull greys and greens.. but now there were every green under the sun... Trees......animals...huge animals..flowers...blue sky.. oh the colours...pinks, purples, yellow, reds, orange, violet... even he himself was a striking electric blue colour...Bill flew around for several hours just taking in the new wonderous sights from above the surface...and his pond.. well it was just a puddle compared to the lakes he could see now...
HIS POND....
HE MUST GET BACK AND TELL BOB..
Bill flew back to his pond, all excited to tell Bob about the new wonderous plane that he had entered... but when he got back, no matter what he tried, he couldn't break through the water surface...
******************************************
My mum explained to us... we are like the worms... when we die, we go to a much better place, our body is like the worm shell left, but inside us is a much more beautiful being that can then live on the next plane... heaven if you like, but there is a barrier between the two areas, so our loved ones can not come back to tell us how wonderful it is or that they are ok.

***
Probably changed a bit over the years but anyway, it always helped me understand and not be so sad about death, hope it does the same for anyone hurting.

GrapefruiTgirl · 10-19-2007, 07:18 PM

That is a very nice tale

and one I particularly like because it deals with dragonflies! I love dragonflies as much as I love snakies,and I have met many dragonflies here at home. They ara magnificient, and apparently they have been around since prehistoric times, being as large as 2.5 - 3 feet in length back then. Today, dragonflies in North America can reach 8 inches in length, but the largest I have seen was about 3 inches or so.
Very nice

and again, a good story! Though, bill, ben and bob are three, right? Not two.. Umm..

anji1971 · 10-19-2007, 07:35 PM

What a wonderful way to explain it!! I, too love dragonflies, and find that part especially nice!

I am going to save that little story so I can show my children and anyone else who needs a little perk after a sad loss- how beautiful to think of it that way!
Thanks for sharing it!

anji1971 · 10-19-2007, 07:38 PM

By the way, I've seen dragonflies about 4" long- when I was a kid up north, and let me tell ya, as beautiful and fascinating as they are, you NEVER want to get whacked in the head by one while its flying one way and you're on a dirtbike going the other! OOUCHHH!!!!

enigma200316 · 10-19-2007, 09:26 PM

I thought it was wounderful and thoughtful, thanks for sharing.........

zooplan · 10-19-2007, 10:46 PM

It a nice strory of beautyful imaging and easy to read even to me

Thanks for your positivity

Stefan-A · 10-20-2007, 03:49 AM

Nice story, even if I don't believe in the idea.

In my family, we've always been pretty honest and open about death.

LushLulu85 · 10-20-2007, 04:02 AM

aww that was a beautiful story hun thanks for sharing that xxx

Gijs & Sabine · 10-20-2007, 04:49 AM

What a very nice story, Inge. Thanks for writing it to us.
I also like dragonflies only the lavae not so much......they eat the baby salamanders in my parents pont

Lori P · 10-20-2007, 08:01 AM

That's a great story!! And what a great way to explain it to a child. I love it, thank you so much for sharing!!!!!

10-19-2007, 05:53 PM	#1 (permalink)
CrazyHedgehog "Fourth shed, A Success" Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 821 Country:	Explaining Death..... When i was growing up we had a few deaths in the family, grandparents, aunts and uncles,family cat and hamster, all in a short period of time, my mum sat us down and explained death in her own unique way.... As we have had a few members lose a pet lately I thought I would retell the story in the hope it gives some comfort as it did with my siblings and I as children! so here you go......... Bill, Ben and Bob are two dragon fly lavae, every day they have a whale of a time, chasing each other around their little pond. The pond they live in is just the best! it has a great number of roots to hide in, squishy mud at the bottom to play in, fish to talk to, other worms and a huge variation of food to choose from. daily life was just play, play play. What could be better? But one day, Ben floated towards the surface of the pond, Bill and Bob teased him for a minute as he went too close to the top... but he stayed at the top...... They called him down, but as he seemed to empty at the surface he just called back saying it was his time and he had to go.... and a shell of his former worm fell to the bottom. Bill and Ben were distraught... But then they noticed that other worms just seemed to end their time and float to the surface... They talked about it... They both decided that if either of them got the urge to go through the surface that if it was ok, then they would come back to tell the other. The days went past....play play play.... Then one day, Bill got an uncontrolable urge to push through the surface....he couldn't help himself, and despite Bob calling him back, he had to go... "Its all right" he called down to Bob " I will come back and let you know what its like" ************ Bill awoke....he stretched his wings.... WINGS... wow, he tried waving them... he was.....he was... wow he was swimming in air...and ....OH MY.... the pond had been dull greys and greens.. but now there were every green under the sun... Trees......animals...huge animals..flowers...blue sky.. oh the colours...pinks, purples, yellow, reds, orange, violet... even he himself was a striking electric blue colour...Bill flew around for several hours just taking in the new wonderous sights from above the surface...and his pond.. well it was just a puddle compared to the lakes he could see now... HIS POND.... HE MUST GET BACK AND TELL BOB.. Bill flew back to his pond, all excited to tell Bob about the new wonderous plane that he had entered... but when he got back, no matter what he tried, he couldn't break through the water surface... ************************************** My mum explained to us... we are like the worms... when we die, we go to a much better place, our body is like the worm shell left, but inside us is a much more beautiful being that can then live on the next plane... heaven if you like, but there is a barrier between the two areas, so our loved ones can not come back to tell us how wonderful it is or that they are ok. * Probably changed a bit over the years but anyway, it always helped me understand and not be so sad about death, hope it does the same for anyone hurting.

10-19-2007, 07:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
GrapefruiTgirl "First shed In Progress" Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 98 Country:	Re: Explaining Death..... That is a very nice tale and one I particularly like because it deals with dragonflies! I love dragonflies as much as I love snakies,and I have met many dragonflies here at home. They ara magnificient, and apparently they have been around since prehistoric times, being as large as 2.5 - 3 feet in length back then. Today, dragonflies in North America can reach 8 inches in length, but the largest I have seen was about 3 inches or so. Very nice and again, a good story! Though, bill, ben and bob are three, right? Not two.. Umm..

10-19-2007, 07:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
anji1971 The Leader of the Eastern Gang Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Windsor, Ontario Posts: 2,691 Country:	Re: Explaining Death..... What a wonderful way to explain it!! I, too love dragonflies, and find that part especially nice! I am going to save that little story so I can show my children and anyone else who needs a little perk after a sad loss- how beautiful to think of it that way! Thanks for sharing it! __________________ Anji

10-19-2007, 07:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
anji1971 The Leader of the Eastern Gang Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Windsor, Ontario Posts: 2,691 Country:	Re: Explaining Death..... By the way, I've seen dragonflies about 4" long- when I was a kid up north, and let me tell ya, as beautiful and fascinating as they are, you NEVER want to get whacked in the head by one while its flying one way and you're on a dirtbike going the other! OOUCHHH!!!! __________________ Anji

10-19-2007, 09:26 PM	#5 (permalink)
enigma200316 Basilisk (The King of all Serpents) Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: northwestern, PA Posts: 1,908 Country:	Re: Explaining Death..... I thought it was wounderful and thoughtful, thanks for sharing......... __________________ Justin 1.1 similis 0.0.1 parietalis 1.0 sirtalis

10-19-2007, 10:46 PM	#6 (permalink)
zooplan The red side of life. Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bonn Posts: 1,127 Country:	Re: Explaining Death..... It a nice strory of beautyful imaging and easy to read even to me Thanks for your positivity __________________ best wishes bis bald Udo www.zooplan.net Member of the EGSA

10-20-2007, 03:49 AM	#7 (permalink)
Stefan-A The Prince of Insufficient Light. Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Southern Finland Posts: 5,730 Country:	Re: Explaining Death..... Nice story, even if I don't believe in the idea. In my family, we've always been pretty honest and open about death. __________________ Ophidia in herba.

10-20-2007, 04:02 AM	#8 (permalink)
LushLulu85 netjer-ankh Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: stockport, Greater Manchester, uk Posts: 1,701 Country:	Re: Explaining Death..... aww that was a beautiful story hun thanks for sharing that xxx __________________ Lulu 1.1.3 T. M. Marcianus (Albino), Sissle, Kia and the sprogs 1.1.0 T. S. Tetrataenia, Clyde & Bonnie

10-20-2007, 04:49 AM	#9 (permalink)
Gijs & Sabine "Preparing For Fourth shed" Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Kudelstaart Posts: 735 Country:	Re: Explaining Death..... What a very nice story, Inge. Thanks for writing it to us. I also like dragonflies only the lavae not so much......they eat the baby salamanders in my parents pont

10-20-2007, 08:01 AM	#10 (permalink)
Lori P thamnophis puniceus Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: VA Posts: 2,988 Country:	Re: Explaining Death..... That's a great story!! And what a great way to explain it to a child. I love it, thank you so much for sharing!!!!! __________________ Lori, New Hope Rescue-- rescuing equines and others www.newhoperescueva.com

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