Simple Ceremonies for Tiny Deaths
Simple Ceremonies for Tiny Deaths
The Tiny (physical) Deaths that we experience are insects, mice, roadkill. Deaths of pets can range from a Small Death to a Big Death depending on how much of a part of our daily life they were. The Very Big Deaths are the deaths of our human companions, caretakers, and children that we love. Of course, sometimes the death of a pet can feel bigger than the death of a parent. It's all very individual.
Here are some simple suggestions for commemorating the Tiny Deaths in our every day life. This is appropriate for toddlers, teenagers and adults.
Make sure you are in a safe place to look at the tiny death and use relative caution without paranoia. Dead creatures can still have ticks and mites on them and although it's not likely that you would contract rabies from a dead animal it is possible if you rub your eye or another mucus membrane after coming in contact with the animal's fluids. So, use gloves, sticks, a shovel or a bag to move the animal around.
Look at the creature. Look at the amazingly beautiful creature you are in contact with. The tiny whiskers, toes, claws, wings, the shape of the ears, the color of the feathers or fur. Notice how different their body is from our own- and, what might be similar.
Notice that it is dead. Are it's eyes open or closed? Can you see it breathing? Can you see it moving? Is it's body stiff or still supple? Is it warm or cold?
How did the life end? Was it struck by a car? Did another animal or human kill it? Are it's organs showing? Can you identify the organs? (If you're looking at roadkill with a small child or someone who has been witness to a tragic death, perhaps bypass the roadkill if it's really messy. Feel it out.)
Take a deep breath, feeling gratitude for your own life.
You can *always* do a ceremony when you see a dead creature. The fastest ceremony that my family and I do which is *every* time we pass a dead creature on the road is simply to notice the animal, and with an upward facing palm lift your hand toward the sky... As if sending it's spirit or consciousness away from it's body to a place that you can imagine the animal would be at peace. (This is all very personal in terms of what your beliefs are surrounding what happens after death) The gesture is beautiful and it feels nice to do *something* to recognize the animal's existence.
If you have between three and 10 minutes you can do another kind of ceremony which is in closer contact with the body. This will vary depending on the size of the creature's body, the manner in which it died and the location.
Go through the "noticing" steps listed above. Just noticing is taking time to show appreciation for the life that once existed and no longer exists.
Move the body to a place where it is out of traffic, or out of the regular pathway of passersby who might say, "Iwwwwwww!" when they see it. The body can go under a bush, into a ditch, out of the sloshing water on the shore, etc.
Place the body in a way that seems dignified. I once moved a turtle off the highway who had died belly up in the hot sun. My husband and I moved him into the shade and put him belly down like he should be.
If you wish you could look for nearby flowers, ferns, rocks, branches... Something from nature that will cover their body.
Don't feel like you have to say something but you certainly can. My family and I say, "Return to the earth." While saying that, we look around at the environment that this little body will be decomposing into. Notice a nearby tree... This little body will breakdown creating a rich compost which a worm will delight in, get nice and plump, be picked up by a mama bird who will feed it to her baby bird which lives in the tree. This is the circle of life.
Take a deep breath, feeling gratitude for your own life.
Note: My own photo of a roadside funeral for a crow that I hit in 2014. I cried, and my teenage daughter and the crows partner who was flying overhead.
The Tiny (physical) Deaths that we experience are insects, mice, roadkill. Deaths of pets can range from a Small Death to a Big Death depending on how much of a part of our daily life they were. The Very Big Deaths are the deaths of our human companions, caretakers, and children that we love. Of course, sometimes the death of a pet can feel bigger than the death of a parent. It's all very individual.
Here are some simple suggestions for commemorating the Tiny Deaths in our every day life. This is appropriate for toddlers, teenagers and adults.
Noticing A Tiny Death
Make sure you are in a safe place to look at the tiny death and use relative caution without paranoia. Dead creatures can still have ticks and mites on them and although it's not likely that you would contract rabies from a dead animal it is possible if you rub your eye or another mucus membrane after coming in contact with the animal's fluids. So, use gloves, sticks, a shovel or a bag to move the animal around.
Look at the creature. Look at the amazingly beautiful creature you are in contact with. The tiny whiskers, toes, claws, wings, the shape of the ears, the color of the feathers or fur. Notice how different their body is from our own- and, what might be similar.
Notice that it is dead. Are it's eyes open or closed? Can you see it breathing? Can you see it moving? Is it's body stiff or still supple? Is it warm or cold?
How did the life end? Was it struck by a car? Did another animal or human kill it? Are it's organs showing? Can you identify the organs? (If you're looking at roadkill with a small child or someone who has been witness to a tragic death, perhaps bypass the roadkill if it's really messy. Feel it out.)
Take a deep breath, feeling gratitude for your own life.
A Simple Ceremony for a Tiny Death
You can *always* do a ceremony when you see a dead creature. The fastest ceremony that my family and I do which is *every* time we pass a dead creature on the road is simply to notice the animal, and with an upward facing palm lift your hand toward the sky... As if sending it's spirit or consciousness away from it's body to a place that you can imagine the animal would be at peace. (This is all very personal in terms of what your beliefs are surrounding what happens after death) The gesture is beautiful and it feels nice to do *something* to recognize the animal's existence.
An Intimate Ceremony for a Tiny Death
If you have between three and 10 minutes you can do another kind of ceremony which is in closer contact with the body. This will vary depending on the size of the creature's body, the manner in which it died and the location.
Go through the "noticing" steps listed above. Just noticing is taking time to show appreciation for the life that once existed and no longer exists.
Move the body to a place where it is out of traffic, or out of the regular pathway of passersby who might say, "Iwwwwwww!" when they see it. The body can go under a bush, into a ditch, out of the sloshing water on the shore, etc.
Place the body in a way that seems dignified. I once moved a turtle off the highway who had died belly up in the hot sun. My husband and I moved him into the shade and put him belly down like he should be.
If you wish you could look for nearby flowers, ferns, rocks, branches... Something from nature that will cover their body.
Don't feel like you have to say something but you certainly can. My family and I say, "Return to the earth." While saying that, we look around at the environment that this little body will be decomposing into. Notice a nearby tree... This little body will breakdown creating a rich compost which a worm will delight in, get nice and plump, be picked up by a mama bird who will feed it to her baby bird which lives in the tree. This is the circle of life.
Take a deep breath, feeling gratitude for your own life.
Note: My own photo of a roadside funeral for a crow that I hit in 2014. I cried, and my teenage daughter and the crows partner who was flying overhead.
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