I am sitting here writing this blog with sadness, not my sadness but that for close friends.  We farewelled their son, who at 41 took his life and has left everyone wondering what happened.  

But sitting there listening to the eulogies and the words of the priest (and don’t get me started about the words of the priest!) I got to wondering.

What will be said about you at your funeral?

In fact, what will be said about me?  What mark have I made on someone’s life, if any, that I don’t know about?  But it did get me thinking about all of us, what people will say at our funerals.

Will we be surprised at what is said?  Will we have touched more lives than we could possibly know?  Will anyone turn up?

Will you be remembered as someone that was a go getter, that believed in life that encouraged people?

Or will you be known as a grumpy bum that was always complaining?

Have you stepped outside the boundaries of society or have you played it safe?

When you get to the end of this life, will you be able to look back and be happy with all that has taken place?  Well, not everything, but will you have regrets?  Will you have wished that you had done more, seen more and maybe been more?

And now I want you to flip things over for a moment and look from the other side.

What do you tell those that you care about?

We don’t know when our time is up, nor do we know with loved ones and while sometimes a passing is something we can prepare for if they have an illness, a lot of times it’s something that is sudden.

Do your loved ones know how much they mean to you? Or do you just think that they know.  A lot of times people need to hear the words so don’t leave them left unsaid until it’s too late.

Do you tell them that you’re proud of them or do you shoot down their ideas and dreams in flames?  Do you stifle them from growing and expanding because of your own fears?  Or do you encourage them to spread their wings and be the best that they can be?

So, what will people say about you at your funeral?  Have you done some amazingly stupid things that everyone can laugh about? Do you need to start changing the way you do things so that you don’t have regrets?

Have a think, but most importantly, Do.  Be. Live. Speak.  Live your dreams, be the kind of person you really are and tell those you care about just how much you do care.