“Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.”
― Haruki Murakami
We all live and we all have to die at some point. Death invokes so many intricately woven feelings, from fear, to wonder, to grief and anger, that it is probably no surprise that most people believe that death may not be entirely final and that the person’s soul or spirit lives on.
Ever since humans have existed, people have always been curious about what happens after we cease to physically exist, forming the foundation of many varied legends and beliefs about death, the afterlife and whether the essence of a person, their soul or spirit, can remain active and present.
Coupled with experiences that cannot be easily understood or explained logically and the result is a multitude of stories and images perpetuated throughout world religions, literature and art, featuring ghosts, supernatural beings and fantastical creatures that are believed to live on after death.
With the cycle of life and death or creation and destruction being a central part of human life, people have always looked for a way to explain, understand it or comfort themselves in the face of a scary idea. A popular way of dealing with the fear of an abstract concept is to create an image of it, often by personifying it. Cultures throughout the ages and around the world almost universally either have anthropomorphic versions of death, such as the Grim Reaper, or they have assigned gods to wield and control the power of death. For example, in Greek mythology there were several gods and demi-gods associated with death; Thanatos being the deity of death, although many people may be more familiar with Hades, the ruler of the Underworld, home of the dead.
In Bonds, it is an unintended death that starts the wheels in motion for everything that happens in the series – a death that you will only discover if you sign up for my mailing list and claim your free copy of the Bonds prequel, ‘The Curse of Souls’.
’Til next time.
