My son was in the other room with my wife tonight talking about life and death.
He's only 5, but children do think about this stuff, and he's a pretty thoughtful guy, anyway. He had been to the science museum today in Tokyo, too, and had seen a presentation on the "origins of life" which featured the great explosions of the "Big Bang," and all kinds of other ominous cosmic phenomena like that. Those presentations can be pretty void of any sort of warm human touch, and can be scary sometimes, especially for kids.
At first he was almost crying. He was afraid that my wife would die before he did, and leave him behind, and he would be lonely.
I went into the room to see if I could join the conversation and bring him some comfort. I discovered that I didn't really have as many pearls of wisdom as I had hoped. Nothing I said seemed to connect. All my attempted pontificating rang hollow, like a sheet of thin metal. Just be honest, I thought.
I told him that sometimes I feel very scared and nervous when I think about death, too, and I hope that we will all live a long, long time, and that actually I will "go first." He said we should ask kami-sama, (God), where we will go when we die. I didn't say anything at this point, trying to come up with an appropriate response. At any rate, somewhere in the midst of the conversation, he began to perk up. "What if we go to CANDY LAND when we die!??!?"
After that it was non-stop talking for about an hour straight about all the details of "Lollipop Land" (the name had changed somewhere along the way). The trees will be chocolate and the houses will be cookies and even the mountains will be candy!!! Me and daddy will go first, mommy!
Ahhhh. Oh man. I told my son that as much as I want to see what Lollipop Land is all about, I'm not in any sort of rush to get there! Hah! I also told him he shouldn't be, either! This started me thinking about something else, too. Something I've thought about quite a bit over the past ten years or so.
I know plenty of adults who still believe in "Lollipop Land,"
and not in the way my son is thinking about it now, but in a religious way. Indeed, I'd be worried if at age 10 or 12 Isaiah was still talking about "Lollipop Land." I also hope he comes to understand that in a very real sense, he is "kami-sama," and "kami-sama," is him, and he needn't look to religious "leaders" or contrived conceptions of deity as separate from the self for "salvation." But, I digress.
What I mean is to say is that some folks are looking forward to "heaven" so much, they miss life here while they have it. It's just like the endless trap of pinning all your "happiness" on that next job promotion, that next move, next girlfriend, next husband, weekend, party, new car...whatever. It's all a giant scam. Some individuals seem so fixated on what they have been indoctrinated to believe happens after life, they don't have a chance, ironically, to fully live what may well be the only life they'll ever get.
My personal view? Is it just dirt and worms and the end of consciousness? I don't think so. But, that said, it's all a mystery. One thing I do know, though. As I was laying with them there in that small room, feeling the warmth of their bodies next to mine, the soft touch of my wife's hand, and the explosive lilt of my son's enthusiastic laughter, I realized, this is it.
This is Lollipop Land, and I for one am gonna live the hell out of it.
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)
I totally agree my friend, this life is too short to fuck around, get on and have the best time you can.
I can't imagine nothingness so I chose to believe our conciousness is infinite while our bodies are finite.
If I'm wrong and there is nothing but dirt and worms it won't matter because I won't know!
I won't be going with any regrets either mate, I've lived many lives in this life already, it's been a blast and I don't intend going anywhere just yet!
really nice post @kafkanarchy, being a parent brings with it so many opportunities to learn more about yourself and to top it all off we have these amazing little beings next to us bringing up all these amazing questions, guiding us and reminding us what it's all about. Of course not all parents see things like this, it's great when you do though and you sure do.
Thanks so much. I couldn’t agree with you more or more emphatically! It’s really a game changer, and I’ve learned so much in just these short five years with my little dude!
Really well said.
Cheers :)
long live your 5 years old son Isaiah and your wife.I just surprized the compare life with lollipop but when i complete the story i think it is a perfect compare.great story dear @kafkanarchy
Thanks, @nazmul1996!
Beautiful post. I remember when this thought hit me, as a child. It scared the 'Be-Jesus' (Irish phrase) out of me, I'll tell you. Not sure what my conclusion was but it still is a mystery to me too. Think you have a good take on it though. Had to laugh at the part where you talk of not having anything effective to say. Man parenting knows how to bust your ego ;)
Haha. It sure does.
Hi there @kafkanarchy84, I hope you and your family are all well. This is not a begging post but I am sorry to have to do this, I wouldn't normally. Could you check out my latest article and give your support, a re-steem from you could make a big difference. It is for a great cause, I am sure you will agree. Merry Christmas to you and yours, much love.
Ahh death is a fun one. When my kids were 5 they were able to realise that at some stage they would "grow up" and be "adults", but still had trouble reconciling that the whole death thing is usually something that happens far down the track and by the time we (collective parents) get around to dying they'll likely be 60+ themselves (I tend to use 20 years as a generation gap, I know not everyone has kids in their late teens/early 20s!). All they're thinking is that they're 5 and you're going to die at some point and that's freaking terrifying!
Well that was the case with mine anyway :) Glad your conversation ended on a happy note in Candyland!
Haha! Great point! That would be terrifying!
Thanks for the comment and sharing your experience.
Cheers.
Wow very nice and excellent story,thanks @kafkanarchy84
I liked the article. Great story bro
I liked the article. Even if there is Lollipop Land beyond death, it does not mean we do not have to live our lives here on Earth. We have to live every moment in the best possible way. We often fail. Of the 24 hours of an 8-hour day we sleep, 8-10 hours we're at the job. For us, to really live we stay 6-8 a day. Little bit! Very little. When I realized this fact a few years ago, I was shocked. Since then, I have been trying to live the best 6-8 hours daily, or the days when I'm free from the job.
Very true!!!
Excellent post and narrative. Thank you for sharing!
Cheers and thank you!
Life is a story and its need a life
Lots of folks forget about living in the "Now" time frame and place all their dreams in the future.
So true.
A real father always knows what he needs to do. Marriage and parenting are the greatest responsibility in life.
If you really think about it, isn't the hope for something mysterious after our brains stop being active as naive as Lollipop Land? We invent these things just because the though of not existing is terrifying not just to kinds but to adults and some of us would rather believe or hope for something unlikely instead of facing what is most likely the case - when you die all the processes enabled by the physical attributes of your brain, including consciousness, would cease to exist.
I’m not “hoping for” something mysterious.
Looking at it critically from the outside, it seems like this is the most likely explanation for your assertion in the matter even if the hope is subconscious. You appear to be quite the serious and insightful thinker, but I don't think you are putting that assertion of yours under any real scrutiny and the only good reason to refrain from that is the fact that holding on to the idea is comforting exactly the same way as Lollipop Land is comforting to your son.
Sure, it is conceivable that our consciousness would somehow transcend death, but so is Lollipop Land with all its imaginary and absurd detail. The question is what evidence or reason do we have to assert that either is even possible. And in both cases there is no mechanism in reality that we know of that would make either possible, so why would we assume that they are? So if you have belief in a mystery here, what is it but hope that something that is highly unlikely would be true because it's comforting. To me it certainly does not look like a reasonable belief.
What reason do you have to believe in this mystery that wouldn't apply to Lollipop Land? They are versions of the exact same thing and emotion, one is just a bit more refined, vaguer and more culturally familiar, so it would sit better with an adult, that's all.
You may be right. Though, to me, there are important differences between entertaining the possibility of the continuation of consciousness versus that of the existence of lollipop land. I’ll get to that in a second here.
I appreciate your directness here, and to be honest, thought about what you’ve stated a lot today. What reason do I have to consider that consciousness may continue? No one I know who has died has interacted with me that I know of, and if they have, I likely wouldn’t even be able to know, were such an interaction a possibility.
My reasons:
There are things that have happened to me in conjunction with others more than once in my life that lead me to believe there is something to the idea of collective consciousness and transmission of information beyond normally identified means. A sort of intelligence, if you will. I have, however, at present, no way to prove this. Still, in answer to your question, I have had no such intimations or experiences in regard to the possible existence of a “lollipop land.”
Even today, there is not a single scientist in the world who understands even what consciousness is. The body does not generate it (at least this cannot be proven), and an entire functioning body being present does not equate to life/consciousness. You can have all the elements present: brain, heart, lungs, oxygenated blood, electric current, etc, present, and still not yield or render consciousness.
Quantum physics/mechanics continues to show more and more that everything is basically just light manifesting as information and then physical matter.
These are not proof of any sort of afterlife. They are, however, qualities that can be observed and considered. “Candy Land” has no such qualities that I am aware of.
great story bro n discuss on life n death.
A charming and thoughtful piece which I thoroughly enjoyed. My perspective, for what it is worth, is that death as we imagine it is a false concept. Everything is energy and energy cannot be destroyed. It transforms. We are all spiritual beings, consciousness, having a physical experience. Where we go when we pass is kinda like into an energetic soup before we wash, rinse and repeat - reincarnate! We are here to be pure love and experience joy. New here to Steemit I am an artist/writer/lightworker keen to hook up with interesting folks. I have upvoted and followed and invite you to visit my page. I wish you and your family a loving, happy and long life. xox
I love this spiritual story.
Thank you for a nice post!