Dealth

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Jan 9, 2024

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Death and Stages of Grief Jamie Alexander Grand Canyon HLT-302

Death and Stages of Grief Introduction Death is a fundamental aspect of human life, often seen as a punishment for humanity's sins. Christianity believes that death was a punishment for the first humans' actions, and it has been a part of human life since then. This essay explores the concept of death and grief in relation to Wolters Orff's reflections on his son, Eric. Porter (2011) defines death as the irreversible stoppage of body functions caused by the heart, brain, and respiration activities. Philosophers view death as the loss of an organism's entire functioning. Grief, a part of human life, is an act of suffering and has stages such as anger, denial, depression, bargaining, and acceptance. These stages are evident in Wolters Orff's experience in his lament for a son. Anger is a stage of grief where individuals express anger for losing something important or valuable. This stage often leads to questions of 'why me?' or blaming others for the loss, viewing the world as an unfair place. For example, when Wolters Orff learned about his son's death, he grieved and sought answers from mountain climbers, questioning why he climbed the mountain alone. Anger is evident in his questions about why he climbed the mountain alone. Denial is another stage of grief, where the affected individual denies the news and contemplates how life will move on after losing someone they loved. In Wolters Orff's case, when he was informed of his son Erick's death, he visited the scene where his son passed personally, hoping that his son was still alive, only to confirm his son's death. Both stages of grief can help individuals cope with the loss they have experienced. Depression is also another stage of grief. Depression is a state where one grief and feels that they have no reason to carry on. Because someone or a situation is gone, they cannot bear the situation. They reach a position where they feel like life is so empty, and some reach the extent of taking out

their own life as a result. Some lock themselves in their rooms with the notion that they don't have the strength to face the world anymore. This can also be referred to in the case of Wolters Orff, who, after losing his son, who he loved so much, faced his grief with depression, thinking about what would next; he felt like he was supposed to warn his son about his activities, an action that he did not do. For this reason, he feels guilty about his son's death. Wolters Orff says that after the death of his son, he felt the need to protect his other children, with whom he took the role of taking them to school personally instead of them riding their bicycles (Kübler-Ross and Kessler, 2009). Another stage of grief, according to Kubler-ross, that is evident in the case of Wolters Orff, is bargaining. Bargaining is the part where an individual, for example, makes a deal with someone that if they give them a second chance, they won't repeat the same mistake. His faith in God demonstrates Wolters Orff’s act of bargaining that he plans to end his pain through resurrection. Another stage of grief, according to Kubler, is acceptance; acceptance is the final stage of grief where the victim agrees to the loss and decides to move on with their lives no matter what they had lost (Kübler-Ross and Kessler, 2009). This is the stage where an individual accepts the loss. Concerning Wolters Orff, he accepts the loss of his son and decides to focus on the other ones who are still alive. Where Wolters Orff says that he decides to be even driving them to school instead of them going to school by themselves. By doing so, Wolters Orff accepted the loss of his son and decided to puck up to his life from where he left it at. Despite his loss, Wolters Orff finds joy as he carries on with his life. Wolters Orff decides to share out his grief with people. He says that the pain of losing his son is something that will live with him but slowly will fade away. Wolters Orff says that the pain he was

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experiencing was a sign of love and respect for his son. He says that the pain signifies his son's love, and he can carry on with the pain in him, saying that it is now part of him. He demonstrates this by hoping for a better tomorrow by accepting the pain to be part of his life; Wolters Orff finds joy in his pain. Wolters Orff has hope in the resurrection, the action that gave him the strength to go through his situation. Wolters Orff’s loss of their son was a significant blow to him, an action that considerably crashed his soul (Sharp et al., 2015). However, Wolters Orff is a Christian who has faith. He should not let the death of his son ruin his life. Christians believe that there is life after death; Wolters Orff being a Christian, should carry on with his life, hoping for a reunion in the next life; furthermore, Wolters Orff, as a Christian, believes that grieving is a blessing from God and that it helps an individual to become someone new, who they could not become without the grief. Christianity posits that death is a result of sinful human nature, and it was introduced to humanity after the first humans sinned against God. This led to the belief that all humans shall die, regardless of their actions on earth. Christians are advised not to grieve for the dead, as this lacks faith in the resurrection of souls. They believe that death is not the end of life and that all the dead will be resurrected in the next life, allowing them to see each other again. Giving for a loved one is a common experience, and understanding the grieving process can help individuals cope with the loss. Wolters Orff, for example, understood the importance of grieving and shared it with others to help them deal with their loss without giving up. Understanding the grieving process helps individuals free up from the impact caused by the loss and handle the loss with ease.In conclusion, death and grief is part of

human life. To get over the loss of a loved one, it's essential for the affected to grieve and understand that life is still worth living and that everyone has their destiny. References Kübler-Ross, E., & Kessler, D. (2009). The five stages of grief. In Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data (Ed.), On grief and grieving (pp. 7-30). Porter, J. (2011). Native American Freemasonry: Associationism and Performance in America . U of Nebraska Press. Sharp, C., Beck stein, A., Limb, G., & Bullock, Z. (2015). Completing the circle of life: Death and grief among Native Americans. In the World of Bereavement (pp. 221- 239). Springer, Cham.

Dealth

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