At CERN, I understand, the Large Hadron Collider, is examining some incredibly tiny fragment of a second after the BIG BANG. Oh look here there’s a funny little item that Google picked up – Eloi Cole, a strangely dressed young man (presumably not over 50) said he had travelled back in time to prevent the LHC from destroying the world. As a response to your collective ruminations around DEATH and the FALL in the midst of momentary minglings with men (over 50) in the majestic woodlands, I wonder about that equally tiny moment of time prior to our removal from life.
I suppose the hungry bear of autumn is in trouble, she should be stuffing her guts for all she’s worth in preparation for her months of living off her fat. A bit like how the Osborne/Cameron combo expect us to do exactly that. It is probably some sort of punishment for not having been to the right schools.
And why would death have a purse? Surely it’s a one-way freebie.
And then there’s this Hansel and Gretel image of opening the door of the witch’s cottage. Oooooh and what does this taste like! Yummy yummy! Entering death with a wide-eyed curiosity.
Coincidentally, in a moment of crazy joy, half an hour or so before reading Rethinking the Fall I had one of those thought flashes – I hope I die laughing.
Another common thought I have is the wish to be aware in those split seconds before the death event. But generally speaking my attempts to pay attention, say to my breath, do not last long – say three or four breaths – then something more interesting comes along. Backwards and forwards, reaching in, getting flung back, like trying to swim in a rough sea.
Oh dear. I want to giggle again
I often imagine that death is rather like falling asleep: I know nothing about it. And then “later” (though time is not part of the experience) I, (or somebody vaguely related to me) is in some rather weird, more or less connected movie. This (though I don’t think this whilst in it) could be some sort of bardo state. And would it matter if I never woke up BUT instead remained in that bardo/dream state. Occasionally there is the consciousness of dreaming but mostly not and often when I do wake, it is a shock. What am I doing here! What is this place!
One of the books I’m currently reading is Murakami’s latest offering, 1Q84. It’s very gripping. The usual Murakami weirdness about isolated individuals plus an examination of cults. Presumably based on his research of a few years ago into the people behind the sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo tube.