Why don’t people like talking about death? I mean we’re all going to die, doesn’t mean that we all want to, but it is inevitable and ignoring it and your wishes isn’t going to prevent it from happening. I don’t know if it is the fear that talking about it creates ‘bad luck’ or that they think it means that they will die sooner, it won’t, but you also need to be practical and accepting that it is going to happen. Sadly for some it will happen far too soon and for others they will live to see that 100 mark.
I have been told that I am very pragmatic and I have to accept that it’s true! I’ve told my son that I don’t want him wasting money on a funeral, if he wants to have one, that’s perfectly OK but don’t think I need it or that it shows the world how much he loved my by having a big funeral, every time we talk on the phone or see each other, we both say ‘I love you’ and that’s enough for me. Please donate my organs, and then put me in a cardboard box, burn me and put me under a tree, no flowers, no keepsake booklet, I don’t need any of that stuff! Don’t forget that funerals are BIG business and some places can make you feel guilty if you don’t do all the bits and pieces because it shows the world how much you loved the person. Well, it doesn’t, but you know what I mean!
A funeral is for those left behind, it has nothing to do with the person that passed. Believe me once we have passed over we just don’t care what went on at the funeral, no-one has come through and said ‘they didn’t have my favourite flowers on the coffin!’ – because they don’t care, they know that the funeral is part of the grieving process for those left behind.
My will is always up to date, my son knows my thoughts about funerals and to donate my organs. It’s not scary to me at all, it’s not morbid and it doesn’t mean I’m going to ‘make it happen’ by talking about it. I feel it doesn’t leave him wondering when that time comes what he is supposed to do or what my wishes may have been. I’ve spoken about death with a friend a few days before she died, and I was with a friend at her husband’s side when he took his last breath. It’s so incredibly sad for the family left behind, but I think if we started viewing death as a step into a new life, as a beginning instead of an ending it may make it a bit easier for others to bare.
Do I want to die? Hell no, not yet! Will I die? You bet. Do I want my family left wondering what to do in regards to my funeral? No. Get your will up to date, tell your family your wishes, be practical and then you don’t have to worry about it anymore!
Then go and live your life to the fullest knowing that you’re not leaving a mess behind.
What are your thoughts?