I’m very excited to announce that my entry for The John Byrne Award is now live. Dad, if you are up there watching, I hope you like it.
http://www.johnbyrneaward.org.uk/entries/is-physical-death-the-end-of-life/
Is physical death the end of life?
I recently lost my Dad to cancer and found myself screaming, struggling to breathe in heavy air charged with emotion, tears streaming down my face, calling out "Dad, are you there? Show me a sign".
I asked the universe - When we die are we at peace? Freed from pain? Free to enjoy earthly pursuits in a new eternity? Or is there nothingness, no further experience, only to live on vicariously in the memories of those who loved us?
Silence. Then creativity stirred. I took my Dad's old t-shirt; willow and flowers from his funeral bouquets; heather and thistle from the hills he used to roam.
The channelling of my Dad, my grief, my memories, my hope for his future resulted in "Gone Fishing". My desire that he should be at peace, doing what he loved, forever. As I consider his existence I see him grinning and laughing with his infamous shoulder shake, he finally answers "I’ve given you plenty signs. You don't recognise them! ".
