rainbow bridge - an anti post - please don't read if that'll upset you

duchy

I'm not sure why it would matter to you. Why are you bothered that other people have a different belief's system to you ?
Some people believe in heaven, some people believe there is nothing after death, some believe in reincarnation -doesn't make any difference to me -I believe what I believe and I'm not so insecure as to need every Tom !!!!!! and Harry to agree with me to validate my beliefs-Rainbow Bridge is pretty much the same-it's a belief that does no harm and give comfort to those who choose to believe............So what exactly IS your problem ? (and what's with all the begging people to comment anyway ??? That's the sort of thing trolls do ....and YOU'RE calling other people weird ??????)

bugslet

I find the rainbow bridge poem a trifle twee, though I'm quite happy as an atheist to believe that I will meet the mutts again, ( just don't believe in a deity to achieve that). However, if someone were to post it for me when one of mine shuffles off, I'd take it in the kindly way it was meant. It's the intention of other posters that really counts, IMO.

melbury

Yes it is all a bit American sort of schmaltzy, over the top sickly isn't it.

Must admit I was quite shocked to learn many years ago that Christians don't believe animals have souls, therefore they couldn't possibly go to heaven.

Well I must say I feel that animals have far more "soul" than most humans, so I guess that was the end of me believing in Christianity;)

sazzybum

'Don't read if it'll upset you'.. well then why bloody bother posting if you only want people to agree with you?

Yes- the poem is a bit over the top and 'twee' but you know what? I don't give a monkeys bum! It helps ME. It helps get through the grief, gives me hope that I'll see my babies again.

The thought of my animals running free at the bridge gives me great comfort, and that's all that matters.

I have posted in numerous threads 'run free at the bridge xxxx' and will continue to do so. If the person concerned doesn't like it- then I would hope they say something, because-believe me-that was the only thing that kept me going when I lost my beloved dogs, but I accept that this may not be their beliefs.

blossomhill_2

I find it rather like many of the cards in Clintons, more for the sender than the receiver.

I've had birthday cards from people who have chosen them for the words but I don't even notice the printed stuff, its the personal handwritten bits I notice, as they are from the heart.

RB's a convenience package for people who don't know the griever well enough to comfort them personally or to spend time with them, harmless enough but having been devastated when I lost various pets it was the friends/family who spent time just letting me talk about how upset I was that really provided comfort, as did the touching handwritten cards from the vet

So I can see where you are coming from but think there is a place for both, after all it's harmless stuff and free, unlike Me to You bears

...as John Lennon said "Imagine there's no heaven..."

Shepherd1

God spelt backward is dog.

Welshwoofs

Yup, personally I've always found the poem 'over blown' and American - flashy and totally lacking in substance. However some people take comfort in it so there you go.....as long as those people are aware that if they ever tried to comfort me with talks of bridges they'd probably get a slap

Now to me, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen written about a pet was Byron's epitaph to his beloved Newfound:

Near this Spot
are deposited the Remains of one
who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferosity,
and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.

AHAR

The Rainbow Bridge is real! I've been across it. Twice! On a train which didn't have a driver! Didn't see any pets there though.

CFC

heretolearn wrote: »

flak jacket on. I know I sound like a cow, I just don't get it. I get how much pets mean to people. I get grieving for them. I totally understand how they are part of the family.

I don't believe in an afterlife for us humans either, so this is really pushing things for me. But as far as I'm aware non of the major religions say animals go to heaven either, so whether you are a believer or not in that, you still don't have any basis for meadows full of pets.

I'm now wondering if the theory allows for the meadow next door to be full of the animals we've eaten, waiting for us with baseball bats. Seems a bit unfair if they not only get short changed in life but don't get to come to heaven either...

Well there you are, then. You don't believe in any kind of afterlife, so why would you believe in a dog afterlife of any kind?

I personally do. I believe in the uniqueness of humanity and I also believe in love being something more than attachment and fondness. I also believe that our beloved animals link with us in some unseen way. My beliefs are quite complex and I can't condense them into two sentences as you can for yours - however it does also allow for some kind of spiritual progression for animals that have nourished us with their bodies, yes.

Spirit_2

It is not a metaphor or turn of phrase that I would use, but I see it as just another way of saying "look to the future".

In its own way it conveys hope and if this speaks to some folk and reaches parts that "I am sorry for your loss of your pet" does not reach in them then that is fine. Each to their own and who is to say what is right?