Something unusual happened to me today. I was taking a walk in the mall during my lunch break when I was approached by a young woman. She requested me to take part in a survey she had designed for her research work in psychology.
Okay, let me have it, I said.
There were 20 or so questions, and they sound something like this:
- Do you think about death?
- Do you think about ways you will die?
- Do you think if anyone would have cared if you died?
- Do you think about suicide?
- Do you think about what to write in a suicide note?
It certainly stopped me in my tracks and for a moment I seriously didn’t know what to think! Of course I have thought about these, only because I am in the midst of completing my assignments on heaven and the millennium. And even if I was not, the topic of heaven is always with me. It took me a couple seconds to compose myself, to reposition my thoughts into a more neutral context and zone, remove myself from my usual reflective and scholarly mode, and start answering the questions.
Yes, I have thought about death, that is only human but, no I have not thought about suicide or suicide notes or ways to die.
Morbid … but could it be an insight to the thoughts of the young people these days?
pearlie
Photo (c) 2008 Constantin Jurcut
I do wonder why one would be asking these questions? Would have been neat if you could have asked her!!!
ReplyDeleteSusan
Spiritual formation is the process of preparing us to face our own death. Too often we focus on the resurrection part but forget about our preparation for our own death.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I did not ask her :) she mentioned it was for her college assignment and I left it at that.
ReplyDeleteAlex,
ReplyDeleteVery true. Churches seldom preach about death. The only one I came across was Trinty Methodist Church Penang, where we went to last year but it was a past sermon as indicated in their website. We need to be taught to age gracefully and face death courageously.