I can't watch Vimeo on dial up, so I hope this is the same clip, on Youtube:

Yes - that's the one Elanorgold. What did you think of it?

Just watched it. I failed to see the meaning of it till I got back and re-read your op, that it's about the stages of grief and surrender. The logician in me was thinking, "But meteorites aren't creatures...) and I waited to see what would happen, wondering why it wasn't burning up, then mentally critisizing that there was no giant splash and tidal wave created by something that large hitting the surface of the sea...

but now I realize what it's about, I can see it being quite healing in the right sort of way. The silent, make your own meaning way. The creature is innocent and curious, he enjoys the fall, he sees the sea coming and is afraid, realizes there's nothing he can do about it, and surrenders to that which he can't control, and lands in the sea happy. I imagine dying might be like that.

I think that was a very innovative and clever sermon! Kinda inkeeping with Jesus's death, right?! We all have times where we have to surrender like that.

I thought it was a very cool sermon - actually I felt that way about the entire service (it was one of the most innovative services I have ever been to). I love how the creature surrender and makes the final few moment of its' life so joyful! People in the congregation shared moments when they had surrendered - from the ordinary (one woman simply talked about the traffic she had encountered on the way to church and the realization that she was going to be late) to the extraordinary (another woman spoke of being a nurse on a maternity ward and of having the priviledge of being with new mothers as they were in labour - at first struggling with it and then surrendering to the knowledge that the child is coming).

I had to watch the video twice and re-read the opening post before the meaning went 'clunk' for me.  Maybe because surrender is not something I am good at.   I'm more a stubborn persistance person than a peaceful acceptance of the inevitable person. 

If I were to mention an example from my life it would be giving birth, so neat that the nurse thought of that so quickly too.

I can't watch the video on my work computer, but I definitely want to see it now that I've seen the responses of Elanorgold and Rowan.  I am fascinated by the idea of this contemporary service because I have never attended anything like it.

I'll be back.

somegalfromcan,

Honestly, with a good lead in and a good close, I could see this video being used for grief. I can see it benefitting those who are terminal in acceptance. I could see it used for "live life, it is short". I could see learning about life lessons, acceptance, emotional ups and downs.....

How we relate it to faith and life matters.... the lead and close

This one is one I used once in a group

SG - I agree wholeheartedly and I think that's why it was a good fit for a Good Friday service. I could especially see it being used to help children deal with grief.

I remember one person at the service suggesting that the ending was actually a beginning. They suggested that this little critter was the beginning of all life on Earth.

Kiwi was a very sweet little film to. I'd be curious to hear how you used it in the group.

Good comment about it being the beginning of life on earth. The seeding theory.

I've long suspected that when we leave this world it won't be "famous last words" but rather a series of images........

The image shown in the video will stay with me. It will be interesting for me to see how close it comes to the "real thing" -when that inevitable time comes......

We all fear change -and death is the "biggie".

Here is another image that came to me whilst watching the video -

somegalfromcan,

what a wonderful non-verbal sermon :3

(i can find a whole bunch of meanings in the vid)

i'm glad it sparked people, like all good art

Lol on that pic Pilgrim!

In my recent Budhist audio book, the author told of how his father died, sitting up, meditating, reciting the Tibetan death prayers, unafraid and curious as a child to meet the big change. And that his breath and heart rate gently and slowly slowed so that no one was sure the exact moment he died. His skin remained pink for the next day or he might have said 2 days, his eyes open, and his back straight, and there was no rigormortis during that time. They left him sitting for a few days before moving him.  thought that was pretty neat.

PilgrimsProgress,

I was mentally preparing a response to somegalfromcan when I read your poignant words and I slowed... then those eyes and word... I literally spit sunflower seeds like a machine gun.

somegalfromcan,

The group was made up of those working toward something, a goal,  that could and would come at tremendous cost.

Isn't interesting how, just when you think a thread is dead, someone posts something and breathes new life into it? I'm glad people have been able to appreciate the video as much as I did.

I was having a conversation at work today with two colleagues about death - one a practicing member of the Baha'i faith and the other a non-practicing Christian. The Baha'i member spoke with great excitement about death saying that he couldn't wait to die. He spoke of wanting to die suddenly, like in a car crash, because he was afraid of the process of a death due to illness, but that he was eager to see the afterlife because his religion has taught him about how great it is going to be. He then took a step back and said, "but don't worry - it's not going to be any time soon. I want to see my kids grow up first." The non-practicing Christian was visibly uncomfortable as the Bahai man was talking. She was unsure of what was going to happen when she died and has troubles with transitions at the best of times. Personally I fall somewhere in the middle. I'm not afraid to die, but I don't feel the same sense of excitement about it that my Baha'i friend does. 

SG - it sounds like that was a very appropriate video to show that group. As I was watching your video, I was wondering if that little bird was actually very sick and if experiencing the feeling of flying was its' dying wish.