h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have to say that this entry is quite a thing of wonder. A very difficult subject (death has bent the minds of great men and women for millennia, to no avail) has been dealt with gently and honestly. When I edit stuff like this (I didn't actually do much - I just cobbled it together) I sense that the positive, loving side of my nature is being spoken to directly, and this makes me feel great, like I'm still learning and growing, happy to be alive.

A fantastic entry. Thank you.

I feel the need to add my own thanks for those that shared in creating this entry. It awakened some long-dormant feelings (for some reason, most of my own personal bereavement was felt some time ago, thought I'm sure it will obviously be felt again at some point). It was greatly uplifting, in an strange sort of way, to read this entry. Very moving and helpful, there wasn't one bit that I couldn't feel real human feelings coming through, and that's probably the greatest gift communication can give us. Thanks again to the people who contributed.

I said in my post (incorporated in the Entry) that I think reaction to death is a function of a person's most basic morality and spirituality. It cannot be easily commented on or understood by another. If talking about it brings comfort, then that's fine. But that was not the underlying point of what I said. At the time, I deliberately left my point unsaid for courtesy's sake, but I feel now I have to make my point plain and clear.

I said:-
"How a person deals with the death of a loved one is intensely personal. It brings home one's own mortality, and so brings to bear many, if not all, of one's moral and spiritual beliefs. That is why reactions can be so different."

It therefore follows that for a person to truly deal with death, they must look INSIDE themselves. Other people can only lend a little support; it is for the individual to discover inside themselves what their loss means. Too much external support is an indulgence. In the end you must deal with it yourself.

I regret not making this clearer earlier. In not doing so I feel I have contributed to an indulgence I did not wish to encourage.

Grief is probably the most personal emotion you can experience.

Think of it as a pothole in the road in front of your house. You know it's there, and it'll always be there - that big gaping crater. Eventually you get used to driving the car around the pothole; every once in a while you miss and bloomp! down in the hole, and you have to find something to wipe your eyes with. But you never forget, and you never want to forget.

Thanks, Sam, for your work on this compilation. It looks like you took your time and did it right, and I appreciate it.

This quote by Neil Gaiman (slightly paraphrased) summaries my feelings about grief:-
"You attend the funeral, you bid the dead farewell. You grieve. Then you continue with your life and at times the fact of their absence will hit you like a blow to the chest and you weep. But this will happen less and less as time goes by. They are dead, you are alive so live."

I would like it read out at my funeral - to grieve, cry & say goodbye are important but living is also important. After all the living keep alive the memories of those who have gone.