I ran in some trouble after stopping for this image, being accused of utter insensitiveness by my eldest daughter. But then, hers is a different world. I can’t see everything in a detached way, but being aware of my helplessness confronted with the utter bestiality happening permanently in the world, the corpse of a dove does not move me too much. And I don’t close my eyes any more when facing inevitable reality.
I did a double take when I saw your post in my RSS feed. I have a draft post with exactly the same title. Fortunately the photo is a different one.
The young are too far removed from death, thankfully, to understand the concept of memento mori. I have known a few (myself included once upon a time) who judge those experiencing such moments as being insensitive, callous even. It’s understandable but I feel that the world would benefit greatly if the young could grasp the importance of remembering their mortality and understand what it means to them. The trouble is, it would need truly sensitive people to teach these lessons. Such people seem rare these days.
Cedric, at least “Western” living style builds very much on the avoidance and if possible concealment of distress and therefore aging and, mind you, death. So it’s no wonder that kids, having been socialised in such an environment, react in a typical way. And the negative judgement of adults in this matter often speaks of their own fear and vulnerability. With our development away from the countryside, away from big, multi-generation families, it’s all too easy to steer clear of these facts of life. And who would like to be a teacher on a topic nobody wants to hear?