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Viewpoint from Keith Morris 02/02/2024
 Keith Morris
At the end of life - there is more beyond
Almost three months ago now, my mother Cynthia died at the age of 87 from vascular dementia – and if truth be told – a whole host of other ailments which had crept up on her over the preceding years
 Mum (pictured left), when she was able to, was full of the joys of life, and had a twinkle in her eye almost to the end when playing dominoes or looking at pictures with her
Her care over the last decade and more took a toll on my Dad, who was her main carer at home – beyond what could reasonably have been expected
I wanted to make sure she went out in style and her funeral and cremation was an appropriate, if sad, celebration of her life with the chance to smile and cry in equal measure
The local vicar down in Surrey where they lived, stepped in for the occasion, even though we had never met him before, and Dad had only met him once. I gave a heartfelt eulogy before Neil did the commendation and committal
Somehow, and I am still not quite sure how, he brought Christopher Columbus into his final reflection
In Valladolid, Spain, stands a monument to the great explorer. Its most interesting feature is the statue of a lion destroying one of three Latin words – three words that had been part of Spain’s national motto for centuries
On his first voyage, Columbus sailed through unknown waters to an unknown destination. Before his voyage, Spain’s standards carried three words in Latin:
“Ne Plus Ultra – No More Beyond”
While the world was convinced there was nothing more beyond, Columbus was not. His ships returned and the discovery of a land of wealth and opportunity “beyond” marked the dawn of a new age
The world was forever changed. So much so, the king of Spain changed the motto of the land to read as it does today. One word on the famed monument is torn away by the lion making it read: ”Plus Ultra – More Beyond! ”
With new worlds just over the horizon, the belief that there was nothing more was replaced by the confident claim that there was, indeed, more beyond
Neil brought us back to the thought that there is more beyond this life we live – we have the hope of eternity with God in heaven. An appropriate thought to draw one life to a close
If you are interested, you can read a short biography I wrote about Mum – it is called A Midwife’s Tale and can be found at: www.lifestories.org.uk
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