Rituals: Who Will Say Grace For Atheists?

July 2, 2012 in People, Religion, Self, Society

I was at lunch the other day with a number of friends. A couple religious, a couple not. As our food arrived and we went to eat there was a moment, a pause, an awkward silence as the religious wondered if they should say grace, and everyone was waiting for a cue to eat. Finally, someone spoke. “Bon appetit” they said and, relieved, we all tucked in. Husband later commented “We should have a non-religious version of grace” and it got me thinking about rituals. Within our lives, there are many rituals. There are personal rituals, such as the order [...]

“He’s Dead” She Said

June 29, 2012 in Children, Health, Mothers, Parenting, People, Pregnancy & Birth, Stories

I was walking to my car after finishing for the day when my phone rang. It was my best friend. She was crying. “It’s Chris*” she sobbed “He’s dead.” It took a while for me to register what she was saying. Her nephew, only just born, had passed away during the night. “Oh my God” was about as eloquent response as I could muster, as she cried and we were both lost in shock and despair. We drove down to the funeral, my mother and I, a couple of hours south of here. We arrived early, we bought a bunch [...]

A Conversation About Organ Donation

March 29, 2012 in Current Affairs, Family, Health, News

Recently my husband & I were watching TV. He turned to me and asked “Hun, do you want to be cremated or buried?” I said I’d like to buried if I’m whole and if he can afford a fancy tombstone. If organs are taken or a tombstone is out then I’d like to be burnt and put in a nice pot, not one of those letterboxes in the wall. I’d like to be taken home and placed on the mantlepiece so one day I can fall off on purpose and scare his new wife. Although recently I have decided I [...]

Plant a Tree from Ashes: A Funeral Urn

March 22, 2012 in Health, Self, Society

Today we saw this and we had to share it. It’s called Poetree and it’s a commemorative urn for a loved one who has passed away, with a difference. After the funeral you take the urn home, plant a tree in it, and the tree grows along with your mourning period. You keep it in your home until the tree is big enough (and/or you are at the right stage in your mourning period) then plant it somewhere. The bottom of the urn breaks away, leaving just the top and the tree, allowing the tree to continue growing. We think [...]

Video: The Prayer Acapella (Peter Hollens)

March 9, 2012 in Music, Religion

It’s Friday!! It’s been a big one so instead of giving you some more food for thought, I though I’d give you some candy floss. Today’s video is the latest from Peter Hollens. As per his others it is acapella and all sounds are created by the human voice. This song features Evynne Hollens. The Prayer was originally sung by Andrea Bocelli (in Italian) and Celine Dion (in English) and released as solo songs, then combined into the duet that is most commonly known. I know many of you are not religious but I think this song is pretty impressive [...]