Today is the Mexican Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico can be traced back to the indigenous cultures. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors have been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years. In the pre-Hispanic era, it was common to keep skulls as trophies and display them during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.

In most regions of Mexico, November 1 honors children and infants, whereas deceased adults are honored on November 2. This is indicated by generally referring to November 1 mainly as Día de los Inocentes ("Day of the Innocents") but also as Día de los Angelitos ("Day of the Little Angels") and November 2 as Día de los Muertos .

I am writing about this because I read an article today about a Doncaster footballer called Billy Sharp. Last night, he played against Middlesborough, even though a few days earlier, his son who was 2 days old, passed away. 2 days! I am not ashamed to say, that I almost burst into tears on the bus. Part of the reason I am an atheist, is because I cannot comprehend a God who would do that. Why would you give a family the joy of life, then take it away so quickly? I hate people who say it is all part of a plan, or that it might be karma. No it isn’t. it has nothing to do with our perceived sins. It has to do with the fact that the world we live in is chaos, and horribly cruel things happen.

You cannot impose human rationale onto events like this, on earthquakes and tsunamis, it is just an unfortunate consequence of living on a dynamic world that is not beholden to our whims.

Back to Billy, he scored and absolute peach of a goal, a rifled volley. As he wheeled away, he lifted his shirt bearing the message ‘That’s for you son’. I can’t imagine there was a dry eye in that stadium. And the emotion for Billy must have been tumultuous. He would probably give up everything, he’d probably never score a goal again, to have one more day with his son. It is strange how quickly we can fall in love with people. People could argue again that it is proof of a benevolent god who makes us treat one another well. But it isn’t, surely what Billy is going through is the worst pain one can imagine. Surely a benevolent god would have led his side to victory, but they lost 2 – 1. Why? Because that is what life is.

I have lived quite a while with the spectre of death in my family. It is natural, and in a way, the younger you are when you comprehend it, the better. I didn’t realise properly that my parents wouldn’t be around for ever until I was 17. When my dad had a major heart operation. I realised he could go at any moment and that I didn’t really have a proper relationship with him. That is something that I have since rectified. Again, on the bus a few days ago, I realised that one day I would never again be able to eat my mum’s potato curry. Or black-eyed bean curry. That was a horrific idea to try and comprehend. I am going round theirs tomorrow for some grub!

So whilst it is important to remember the dead, to miss them, the most important thing about days like today, is to realise the family and friends you have around you right now. The ones who you love. Because they could go at any moment, and that is the just the way of the world.

I leave you with the Flaming Lips who embrace the wonder of our mortality better than most.

- Anand