Yes. The compassionate take is that they were lost by accident. They’re surprisingly heavy. My grandniece was repelled when we went to spread my FIL’s ashes in the bay two weeks ago. She is 11. She and I were at the back of our group of some 29 people. When the ashes were released, she was horrified. She asked me if they just dumped Grandfather in the bay. I said yes, it was better than burial. She said “Gross, I’m never swimming in the bay again!” I, in my worldly-wisdom from hell, said from ashes we arose and to ashes we shall return. She looked at me as if I were an alien. Her father is agnostic, her mother was reared in Christian Science, but doesn’t practice. nostr:note1ajrnvgm6apt5mctflk5dz0un4g6xy94rldg948j0zfvt02qxv5qqcu48m4
Discussion
Ooo yeah that’s a tough one. Whether a believer in a higher being or not, I think even agnostic/atheist/Christians can all agree that we “came” from nothing but an egg and a sperm to be what we are and that someday our bodies will return to nothing. What happens with our spirit/soul/consciousness is (at least what I believe) between you and your maker.
We dumped my Great-grandmother in the canal behind her old house in the Florida Keys where we all spent so many hours with her chatting, swimming, eating, etc. It was a special place for our family. Even as sad as that whole endeavor was, we all joked (and still do) that it’s the only time she ever sank. (That women could lay back and float up and down the canal drinking her drink and waving and chatting with neighbors like she was on a floaty).
There’s always a silver lining and special moment that can be had. Help your niece find that and she may one day realize her special moments with him.