Closer to Peace

This animation illustrates a story about a child buried in a rural cemetery in the mid-1900s (Shinimicas, Nova Scotia). Mary Ellen Macdonald, Grief Matters’ co-lead, read the story first in a genealogical LISTSERV and then corroborated it with community members. 

In the story, a child had died in winter. The mother couldn’t bear to think of the child lying under the snow, so the father built a roof to keep the snow off the grave.  

Mary Ellen relayed this story as part of her TEDx talk, Grief, memory, and caring for the dead (June 9, 2024). The speakers at TEDx Pugwash framed their talks around the theme of Peace, using the Earth Charter’s definition: Peace is “the wholeness created by right relationships with oneself, others, persons, other cultures, other life, Earth, and the larger whole of which all are part.” 

Mary Ellen believes that attending to our dead to ensure they ‘Rest In Peace’ brings us all a little closer to peace.