I found this on the BBC website and found it quite interesting and thought-provoking. It makes a lot of sense to me- when you look at the historical records and read all the stories and rituals that used to be be connected with death, it feels quite ghoulish compared to today. We sanitise death, get rid of anything reminding us of it as soon as possible, and try to forget it ever happened. Or if not, we go all over the top like with Princess Diana or Jade Goody. We forget that for people in the past death was part of life, something that was always going to happen, not something to be ignored and avoided as much as possible.
But it's not an easy thing to talk about. Discussing the prospect of death with older relatives can make us uneasy, making us confront the fact that one day they will be gone and we will miss them. It's not helped if they too appear to be afraid or concerned by the prospect of death.
It's a tricky subject. I'm glad that for me it's not quite so daunting as for some, because of my faith. But that doesn't mean it's not still something I find uncomfortable to think about, if not for myself, then for other people.
Can't remember where I saw it but once I read someone basically discussing how relieved they were that so and so had kept hold of their atheism to the last, "unlike some other people"; it just made me stop and go "my goodness, people are that desperate to keep believing there's no God even when they're going to die". But yes, having a faith does help.
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