Wow, been a while since I updated this thing.
I was on FB today (yes, I restarted it- I'm an addict) and saw where a friend of mine's grandmother has been hospitalized and techinically died on the OR table. From what I can piece together, this poor soul has been in and out of the hospital for various wounds, diseases and problems for the past few months. It makes me wonder at what point does one stop praying- or pleading, or hoping or wishing- for the person to live? At what point do you resign yourself to the thought that maybe the person's comfort trumps their extended existence? At what point do you stop praying for longevity and start hoping instead for the comfort of your loved one?
Also, I wondered about paranormal or supernatural things the day before Halloween as I watched- sneakily as I knew it would scare the crap out of my kids- a documentary on the History Channel about zombies through the ages. The Chinese had a zombie called the Jiang Shi. The Arabs had a zombie called a Ghoul. The Vikings had a nearly indestructible zombie, though I forget what it's called. Even the Native Americans had zombies. And of course many African cultures- especially Western African cultures, where it is said voodoo originated- had zombies, and when they were brought to Haiti the zombie turned into the creature we know today- slow, stupid and hungry. Many other cultures' zombies were fast, smart and hard to destroy.
History lesson aside, it really makes me wonder why so many different and widespread societies have things like zombies, vampires, ghosts, demons, angels and God (or Gods). Why do so many cultures have such similar mythological entities when the cultures themselves are so dissimilar? Are they real? Or are all these things inspired by some innately human fear of the unknown, and thus a figment of our collective imaginations?
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