Funerals are for “the Living”

It’s an old saying that I recently heard (again like for the first time) from a sweet coworker. “Funerals are for the living”. She was saying this to me at the right time, as my Aunt passed away a week ago & my son made it clear that he “didn’t want to go to the funeral, it would hurt too bad”. About two weeks later I went to my stepmother’s funeral and for several reasons I could clearly see how “funerals are for the living”.

It allows the living to reflect on their life with the person who has died.

It allows the living to see family and loved ones that they haven’t seen in years.

It allows the living to sit with our own mortality…one day we all have to sit in “that box at the front of the church”.

It allows the living to celebrate with lots of love, in a way send off the person who has died.

Funerals are certainly for the living, the dead is unconcerned, even if they may be in attendance.

The funeral is for the living so much so that sometimes the funeral itself does not reflect the person who actually did the dying.

The funerals are for the living, one of it’s very reasons for existence as a rite (ritual) is to help the grieving process….. of the living.

The physical goodbye, the release, the ending and just the beginning…funerals are for the living!