A Parable of Immortality/What is Dying?

Jan 30, 2012 | 1 comment

In a recent conversation, a friend questioned if there is life after this lifetime. Religious traditions across the spectrum of East to West speak of the eternal soul. Personally, I do believe the spirit continues on, beyond this physical plane.

Doug Manning, the founder of the Insight Institute who brought Certified Celebrant training to the United States, comes from a background as a Baptist minister. He told a story of having a conversation with someone who didn’t believe in a life after this life. Manning’s reply: “Well, one of us will be very surprised when we get there.”

This poem, which I’ve heard at a number of funerals, appeared recently in a local obituary for a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer. It’s an apt metaphor for the concept of what happens when the physical body dies and the spirit departs this sphere of perception.

This reading has been attributed to both Henry Van Dyke, as A Parable of Immortality, and as What Is Dying? by Luther F. Beecher. There are only slight variations between these two versions.

Tall ShipA Parable of Immortality

I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze
and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength,
and I stand and watch until at last she hangs
like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says,
“There she goes!”
Gone where?
Gone from my sight . . . that is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull and spar
as she was when she left my side
and just as able to bear her load of living freight
to the place of destination.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment
when someone at my side says,
“There she goes!”
there are other eyes watching her coming . . .
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout . . .
“Here she comes!”

What Is Dying?

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze, and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch until at last she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to meet and mingle with each other. Then someone at my side says, “There! She’s gone!”

Gone where? Gone from my sight — that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side, and just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of her destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment when someone at my side says, “There! She’s gone!” there are other eyes watching her coming; and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: “There she comes!”
And that is — “dying.”

You can get a free eBook with this reading. Celebrating Life: How To Create Meaningful Memorial Services with Templates and Tips can be downloaded through this link.

A Good Goodbye