This cove is sort of a hemlock cemetery and that creates a striking contrast particularly in the spring, when all the little shoots pop up and the ferns unfurl, the bloodroot blooms and the trilliums nod. Makes me think about death and ask the question – what are we all so afraid of? We know it’s coming, just a matter of when and how. Maybe a virus, maybe a car crash or a disease, maybe natural causes and we fall asleep on the couch and don’t wake up, like my grandpa. Perhaps we all need to think about the fear associated with death in our culture and how irrational that is really. One of my favorite things about hosting the Tibet monks of Drepung Loseling monastery has been the discussions on death. For Tibetans, reflecting on death regularly is not taboo, not avoided at all cost like it is here in the U.S. Death is inevitable and can be beautiful: the hemlocks on my land feed the microbes and bugs in the soil, the budding plants around them grow greener because of those who came before. The dead trees are still loved, still part of the cycle. They don’t just disappear into a void. Acknowledging death – let’s do more of it, lean in instead of running away. I believe this recognition, this making peace with death will grow our resilience, connect us to each other as a species and open up common pathways for the compassion, grace & unity we will need to move forward through crisis.
