Читать книгу Before We Say Goodbye: Preparing for a Good Death - Ray Simpson - Страница 29

A good way to befriend the ultimate edge of life is to reach for the edges in various aspects of life. These may be physical, moral or spiritual edges.

David Blaine, 25, buried himself alive in a plastic coffin for a week. He did this after experiencing his mother’s funeral. A year later, wearing nothing but combat trousers, boots and a woollen hat, he agreed to be entombed for two days in a six-ton block of ice. ‘I enjoy setting myself goals,’ he explained. ‘This is my way of challenging every human fear.’¹³

That may be bizarre, but it is good to challenge our fears.

Kevin, at roughly the same age as David, went to live in a tomb cut out of the rock 50 feet above a lough. His clothes were animal skins. Each day he prayed for an hour in the icy waters, even when a scaly sea creature, feared by local fishermen, curled itself around him. Kevin of Glendalough had discovered this truth: ‘Go to the place of your greatest fear and it will become the place of your greatest strength.’

The exploits of David and Kevin are not for everyone. Indeed, some would regard them as foolhardy, just as they would the exploits of bungee-jumpers and paragliders.

There are other ways of reaching for the edge. Howard was president of his student union, and an atheist. Some Christians challenged him to make an experiment: to do unconditionally whatever his conscience told him to do. The results were so startling that Howard, a scientist, concluded the most likely explanation was that there was an unseen, superior Intelligence. He followed his conscience to the edge, and in time became a believer in God.

Nobody can reach to the edge of life itself until their time comes to die. Nonetheless, if we have learned to reach for other edges in our lives, we will surely be more able to reach for the final edge.