The Importance of Memorialization.
The vast majority of us strive to make a difference. Whether it be in our career, our family life, or as a volunteer for a good cause, we want to feel important and needed, that our lives have mattered.
As a society, we often bring people to the forefront and celebrate accomplishments and milestones. We make these events public and awards are commonplace while we surround the recipient with those closest to them and who matter the most in their lives. Sometimes we even involve the person who benefited from the actions of one or many.
It feels good to be recognized for these accomplishments; that warm fuzzy feeling we all have experienced at one point or another. But what about at the end of our lives? What then?
In today's fast moving world, we so often trivialize our own end of life. Although we work so hard to be recognized and respected in so many areas of our lives, when it comes to death you will hear...don't make a fuss, I really don't want anything. Don't waste your time and money on me, I'll be dead!
These words don't sit well with me, especially as a funeral professional. The importance of life and a life well lived is immeasurable. The impact so many of us have on our friends and family, our co workers, neighbors, or society as a whole is often underrated. We matter, Our story matters, And our life mattered. And I have the privilege of witnessing this time and time again in my profession.
Over my 35 plus years as a funeral director, I have had the pleasure of sitting down with countless families to discuss arrangements. I can tell you without hesitation, that I have been blown away by the accomplishments of so many. Some of these people are well known, others not at all, but their accomplishments were no less impressive. I have met the families of War hero's, inventors, celebrities, and normal every day folks, and I am always amazed at what these people have done. From being born before airplanes and cars, to making a 57 Buick fly across a theater, their lives mattered!
Imagine if generations before us felt the same way we do today, don't make a fuss. Imagine never celebrating or remembering the lives of Benjamin Franklin or Rosa Parks. Or simply forgetting those lost during 9-11. Imagine the countless cemeteries in our country that many of us have walked through reading epitaphs, were simply empty fields devoid of monuments to those who rest there. Their accomplishments forgotten as soon as their life ended. The accomplishments of so many would simply be forgotten.
We as a society need to take a step back and start believing the words we speak. Lives do matter! They are worthy of celebrating, remembering and memorializing. Some may have been very quiet and unassuming and others will be hard to forget, but all were lived and important to someone. Lets take a moment and make it a point to remember them. A celebration or memorial service can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish. Maybe a simple prayer or poem graveside, or maybe an intimate gathering is more appropriate. Regardless of the type of memorial chosen, it is an opportunity to remember those who have gone before us and to say thank you for what they have done and who they were; big or small.
