Imagine a young boy who absolutely hates bathing. But for serious health and safety reasons, he must. Now, imagine his mother—firm and determined—making sure he bathes every time it’s due, no matter how much he resists. Every bath is a battle for him, filled with stress and frustration.

Now, picture his elder sister. She loves him so much that she cries her heart out every time she sees him suffer during bath time. And then, imagine his ten best friends. They adore him so much that, whenever they hear about his bathing ordeal, they feel like it’s the greatest injustice ever!

Let’s stop imagining for a moment. This is a story driven by deep emotions but clouded by misunderstanding. In this metaphor, the boy represents all of us—the living. Bathing symbolizes death. The mother is nature, ensuring death when the time comes. The sister is our loved ones, grieving when we die. And the friends represent society’s view on death, dying, and bereavement.

Think about it. If this analogy makes sense to you, you might enjoy what comes next. If it annoys you, then maybe you need to read further!

Now, back to the boy. He doesn’t fully understand why he must bathe, so his resistance is natural. But that doesn’t mean he can avoid it. His mother, if she’s not strong and composed, will suffer every time she forces him to do something he dreads. His sister, though full of love, needs to grow in understanding to support him better. And his friends? They are sympathetic, but their emotional response alone doesn’t help him.

This is exactly how we react to death.

We are like the child, wishing to live forever, struggling to accept the inevitable. Nature, like the mother, ensures death when it’s time. Our loved ones, like the sister, break into pieces when it happens. And society, like the friends, mourns deeply but often without deeper understanding.

But have you ever seen someone living while their loved ones silently wish for their peaceful passing? Some of us have. Death is painful. But the absence of death when it is necessary is even harder to imagine.

Let’s stay innocent, but let’s also grow. Let’s acknowledge our sorrow, but not resist the natural flow of life. We may not control nature, but our attitude toward it can shape our experience within it.