Margaret are you grieving?

Today we heard the very sad news that my wife's brother has died. He was in hospital and was in pain. In the end he just slipped away.

At one time it was our parents dying. Now it is those of our generation who are passing away.

I am reminded of this poem by Gerard Mandley Hopkins.

"Márgarét, áre you gríeving......"

Human memory

Nobody really knows what happens when we die. 

On a purely scientific basis, our neurons cease to work so we cannot experience anything: we just cease to exist.  Some estimates put the brain memory size as 2.5 million gigabytes, which is huge.

What amazes me are the maps we have in our heads (at least in mine!). One technique I use to get to sleep is to go from A to B on a journey. It is fascinating what is there.  I have a mental image of many of all the places I have been to. Some of these must be very old.  Also, it is surprising how a snippet of music triggers a memory.  You wonder what else lurks there waiting to be triggered. I guess one day, we will understand how the brain memory is so huge and efficient and make AI based on this.

Others with a religious persuasion believe something of "us" survives after we die.

The truth is nobody really knows. I am sure those with a deep faith (whatever their religion) will have faith that what they believe will be correct.

The biggest question of all

One thing is certain: we all die, whether born poor or rich and whatever country we inhabit. 

Some with a strong faith will say they know, but most have no idea. Some believe we just die. Others believe we go to heaven or hell. Some believe we are reincarnated. The truth is we have no idea. 

As a younger person, our death seems far away. As we get older we are more aware that our time is limited.

Doctor reveals what you'll see when you die - according to science - NOT amateur radio

 This video was see on YouTube earlier. I had a cardiac arrest in 2013. Many with a religious faith will expect some kind of life after death.

What happens when we die? - NOT amateur radio

It has been estimated that there are 10 billion stars in our galaxy alone. In the observable universe there are trillions of galaxies. The "average" star has at least one planet, meaning that there are a huge number of planets!

Somehow I cannot believe this life alone is "it".  Some estimate there are 10 to the power of 25 planets. This is a truly staggeringly large number.

Most religions are very "Earth centric". What is certain is we only can know very little with our small brains.

Near death experience - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday, I probably came nearer to death than at any time I can remember.  

For what seemed like ages I was unable to breathe because of a chest infection. In the end I got my breath, but had I not been able to, I would have passed out and probably died. We hang on by a thread.

Life after death? - NOT amateur radio

As I get older, I am more aware than ever that life is time limited. Most (if not all) religions point to some sort of life after death. I think most people hope for this. 

At the same time, I cannot square this with the fact that when I die, I can have no memory. If I just ceased to exist how would I know? At the same time the whole concept of "I" has no meaning. Also, I am puzzled by the vast number of planets in the universe and the smallness of our brains. 

Death remains a mystery. Most religions fail to answer my questions.

"Life's a bitch and then you die" - NOT amateur radio

Not sure where this phrase originated. It must be good to have a strong faith.

Recently my cousin died of jaw cancer having lost his only daughter in the last year. His wife was so upset that she told nobody of the funeral and there were only 3 people there (her sister, niece and herself). She must feel so alone and bereft. 

Nothing I can say will be able to make things better. Talk of a loving God and life everlasting seem hollow.

Death - NOT amateur radio

We have just heard of the death of the husband of my wife's old work colleague. They live in Australia. Although expected, it must be such a shock when it actually happens. 

I guess it is also a wake-up call to our own mortality. I am reminded of this poem.

See https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44400/spring-and-fall .

Silent keys (SK)

This is the term used in amateur radio circles for people who have, sadly, died. It must date from the very early days when most people used Morse and Morse keys. The phrase may be over 100 years old.

In the last year or so, two of the people locally that I chatted with every week have become SK. The one thing they had in common was their zest for life. 

Both enjoyed finding new things right up until they died. Both are missed, but their vitality lives on. 

RIP Ted G4NUA and Ian G3KKD. Ted was keen on PCs and WSPR, and Ian was experimenting with DATV. Ian liked all things ATV. Even to the end he was building 5.6 GHz ATV kit.

Getting older - NOT amateur radio

On my next birthday I shall be 72. When younger, life seemed endless and death was rarely on the radar. Nowadays more and more people of my age are dying, so death is more immediate. In the last few months several people that I know have died.

As a younger person, I had a quite strong faith. It was a bit "off the wall" though. These days I am aware of other faiths across the world and I just do not know. Our planet is just one of probably billions in the known universe. Maybe all religions are just attempts to come to terms with our existence. 

I am puzzled by human consciousness. One thing is certain: our brains are small and incapable of answering the deep questions. Somehow I cannot believe that when we die we just cease to exist. Before we were born we knew nothing however. Death remains the ultimate mystery.

Puzzled.

Borrowed time? - NOT amateur radio

As we get older (I am 72 in December) we have a different perspective on life. 

Years ago life seemed to be endless. Nowadays we are more aware of our limited time. Some of our close friends have died in recent months. One of my wife's closest friends has gone in to a care home for people with dementia. A year ago she was fine.

Every day is a precious gift. Tomorrow we could be dead or we could live for another 30 years. I guess the message is count every blessing. We go from children to old people very quickly! We look back and wonder where the years went.

What happens when we die? - NOT amateur radio

Occasionally, I contemplate my mortality.

At one time, life seemed to stretch on for ever, but as one gets older and friends start to die, you realise that at some point you will die too. Some have a strong belief in an afterlife. Others are less sure.

As a youth I had quite a strong faith, but these days I am unsure.  The truth is not one of us can be sure. When our neurons stop firing is that it? Do we just cease to be? What is certain is how little we know. Just look back over the last 200 years and think how our understanding has changed.

Perhaps we should not worry too much about death. After all, we all share this fate and no-one honestly has any idea.

I think the big mystery is human consciousness - just what is it that makes us us? Maybe one day we will have some answers.   In the meantime, as I read somewhere, we have Covid-19 to beat and the next solar cycle to enjoy.

Blackbird death - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago I was in the kitchen when there was an almighty bang: a young blackbird had crashed into the window. I was unsure if it was just stunned, so I left it on the lawn hoping it might recover and fly off.  Sadly, it died.

As often, this makes us consider our own mortality. In an instant this bird was dead, as we all will be one day. As a youth I had quite a strong faith. Now I am more unsure. What I do realise is how little we know. One has only to think how our understanding of the universe and evolution has changed in the last 200 years to realise this.

In the case of this blackbird, it saddens me to think of all the effort of the parents just snubbed out in a second. They probably spent days on making the nest, then days feeding it.

See the poem "Spring and Fall" by Gerald Manley Hopkins.

Life after death? - NOT amateur radio

Sorry to bring this up again.

When we die our brain cells die and logically we cease to exist any more.

However, we know so little about everything we experience that there is some doubt. The simple answer is no-one can be really sure. In some ways it is perhaps better that death is the end.

The mystery of life - NOT amateur radio

Once in a while I post a philosophical question on this blog. I am no philosopher!

When we die those of a religious persuasion believe in some kind of life after death.  Those without a religious belief tend to believe life ceases and we just cease to exist.

Now, all we know is how little we know. We can experience only through our senses. In the last 150 years we realise how easily we cannot rely on our senses. As an example think of quantum mechanics which can be very counter-intuitive. All we can be sure about is how little we know.

There are so many things that we simply do not understand and probably can never know or understand. Human consciousness is perhaps the ultimate mystery.

Something tells me there is so much we cannot know.

The end of life - NOT amateur radio

My son's parents-in-law lost their only son in 2017 due to a freak accident involving a driver ploughing though a red light. The driver was texting. There is a chance one of their two young daughters could die from cancer leaving a husband and 2 young children. The family, my son included, is very afraid. So are we.

At times life seems very random and very cruel. All world religions try to make sense of death. Perhaps the flame just goes out and that is it. However, there is so much we do not understand. Perhaps our brains simply cannot ever hope to understand. It is a brave person indeed who says he or she really understands. At the same time it takes some faith to believe in a just and loving God when things seem so cruel.

As death approaches us all, perhaps it is right that we think about it.

Mortality - NOT amateur radio

A few moments ago, I walked to the bakers. On the way was a dead red-legged partridge that was probably hit by a car. I doubt the motorist was even aware. Things like this just remind us how fragile life really is.

A year ago my son's brother-in-law was killed whilst crossing the road on green at a pedestrian crossing in Australia. The car driver was on her phone and ploughed into him. He was only young.

When we die (some of us) hope for some kind of life after death. No-one is really sure, but probably we just cease to exist as we did in the billions of years before we came into existence. What chance we were born at this time on this planet?

Are all religions our attempt to come to terms with our mortality? I do not know. No-one is really sure.

Human Consciousness - NOT amateur radio

Perhaps the biggest mystery of all is what happens when we die. Do we just cease to be and our consciousness dies with our bodies?

This has been the central question of all religions for millennia. I certainly do not have the answers. On a logical level we are only conscious because of our brains and synapses. As far as I know, no-one has explained why we are conscious beings.

And yet, there is so much we do not know. One thing is certain. This is the ultimate question.

Margaret, are you greaving.... - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday there was a young blackbird in the garden when I was cutting the grass. At first I thought it was with its parents being fed. Hours later it was still there. This morning it was dead.

Now, I know this is the rhythm of life. I know it was probably very sick and bound to die. Nonetheless it saddened me. I hid the body in the bushes so my wife would not see it. She will think it just few off.  Perhaps it is just a reminder than what happened to this little bird happens to us all. Perhaps that is why I am saddened.

Margaret, are you greaving over Goldengrove unleaving?

See https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44400/spring-and-fall