Merely sand

I am lying half a meter beneath the ground. A rectangular hole has been dug in the ground and I see some stones and branches in the dry earth. Above me, leaves are fluttering down and it starts to drizzle. I wonder how long I will lie here, as the fact is that I have to go to an intro party this evening. I’ll wipe the dust and sand off me, but if it becomes mud, I fear the worst.

I am lying in a purification grave. Pastor John Hacking of the Students’ church came with this art project for students and employees. ‘You literally have to cross a border to lie in here,’ John Hacking says, ‘People often fear death. But this project isn’t about death. You’re not dead, you’re alive. And in this grave you have the possibility to think about your life.’ It sounded like a sinister idea to me, to lie down in a grave. But actually it is quite calming. The trees above me, the birds singing. It is just like lying on a field of grass. This thinking of life has not occurred to me yet, as I am way to busy planning the rest of the day. And I don’t stick to the rules of the game, as I sneakily check my telephone to see whether that photographer has called me yet. Everybody who needs a couple of hours to think about life, to see the world from another perspective or to finish their try before you die-list : Don’t let the fact that it is a grave discourage you. It is in any case not a fire.