CHRISTIAN VIEWPOINT: Prioritise the truly important things
Simon Boas’s uncompromisingly titled book A Beginner’s Guide To Dying was written in the final months of the author’s life and published shortly after his death, aged 47, from a virulent cancer last summer.
It has all the authenticity of a dispatch from the front line. He assures us that ‘accepting death is actually something we can all do, and it is life-changing’.
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In this scrapbook of reflections, Boas sketches the background to his cancer story: his privileged, sometimes hedonistic youth; his work in international relief in war and disaster zones where he saw both the best and the worst of human nature; his marriage to soul-mate Aurélie; his final role as director of Jersey Overseas Aid.
We see his passionate zest for life, his keen mind, his sense of humour, his capacity for joy. And he shares thoughts on how best to support those who are dying.
Boas encourages us, whatever our age, to befriend the knowledge that we will die, to prioritise the truly important things, to reflect on the miracle and privilege that we actually exist. He acknowledges his regrets, and shares his sadness at parting from loved ones - ‘the one thing which makes my eyes leak’.
An atheist for many years, Boas reflected over the last decade on both the scientific explanations of the wonder that is the universe, and the theological perspective. He concluded ‘that it’s not so stupid to believe that there’s something beyond ourselves’, that there is ‘a benevolent Creator’.
Despite the destructive behaviours he has witnessed, he is convinced that everyone has ‘a deep capacity for kindness and love at their core’, and tells us ‘I can see love and benevolence almost everywhere, especially now the veil is thin!’
Christians sometimes using terms like ‘total depravity’ to describe human sinfulness. Simon Boas, through possibly over-optimistic, provides an important corrective. We might say in response to this book: ‘You’re right! Yes, we sin, we mess up, but we are beloved daughters and sons of a Creator who loves us, and we all reflect something of our Creator’s loveliness’.
I notice Boas approaches death without fear. It may, he concedes, mean ceasing to exist, but he thinks that ‘death is probably not the end of our truest selves’.
There is no mention of Jesus, no ‘sinners’ prayer’, no confession of faith in Christ. But I have come to think that when someone says ‘Yes!’ to kindness, goodness and love they are in fact saying ‘Yes!’ to the One who is the Source of all Love. A friend who has also read the book, describes its author as a ‘lovely soul’. The Simon Boas I find in its pages seems to be, in so many ways, a man after God’s heart.
