What one atheist thinks towards the end of his life.

Going over Family History last night with my sister Heidi, we started talking about our maternal
Grandma. She was an atheist. She told me this back in the summer of 1983, months before she died.

Grandma was a very good soul. She felt it her responsibility to care for and uplift others….especially
the sad and lonely and needy. She sought them out. She lived a very Christ like life even though she
didn't know it as such.

Still, there was this unspoken sadness about her. Like a layer of suppressed anger. I attributed much of
that to her hard life…..raising her children during the depression, her husband out of work due to
disabilities, losing their first born at 9 months of age due to a weekend virus….and many more
challenges I won't go into here.

But looking back, what would life mean if we believed we would lose it all, including all the people we
love, at the end of it? That it would all be over. Gone and done with.

I heard this short interview with famous children's author Maurice Sendak recently, and it reminded
me of Grandma. He has since passed away, but he had this to say near the end of his life.

He didn't believe in God either, but it's obvious he envies those who do. I found it telling the way
he said, "I don't believe in an afterlife but I still expect fully to see my brother again." Perhaps
somewhere deep in his soul, he knew.

It's just a 5 minute clip, and he did very much appreciate and love life.
Just so sad he thought it would be forever over soon.






4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I heard this interview before, and I felt sorry for him that he didn't believe in an afterlife and that he cried all the time because people were leaving him and there was nothing he could do about it. Such a sad position. I wonder if he changed? I bet it would be difficult to let go, in death, if you believed it was truly "the end".
darlene

Scrapally said...

I can't imagine living my life thinking that when I die it's the end. How depressing! My computer sound isn't working so I can't listen to the clip, but will check it out when I can! I hope your grandmother has found the peace she certainly deserves for living such a giving life.

Anonymous said...

To be honest, I never cared for his books. They were too dark and creepy, and I didn't want to put those images in my children's heads. Thankfully, my children were not drawn to them.
darlene

Grandma Honey said...

I hear you Darlene. I was not a big fan either. The title alone scared me…"Where the Wild Things Are."

Look what happened last night

  Just a little pre-graduating gathering for our DIL Amy.... Not everyday a Mom of 7 and a Grandma of 7, graduates from college. It was not ...