March 12 2018
Continuing with our Make It Matter theme, when we lose a loved one, the loss often invites us to consider how to make life matter in new ways. These considerations start with how we choose to care for our loved one after death, and continue through how we choose to live our lives.
One of the first choices after death is services. You have three general choices.
The first choice is having no gatherings or services and is similar to the following sentence:
My loved one lived a life
Did you notice there is no punctuation at the end of that sentence? That is what having no services can feel like, you are left hanging and in limbo.
The second choice is having a “cookie cutter” service and is like this sentence:
My loved one lived a life.
This time there is a period at the end of the sentence letting us know a life ended, but that is all we know.
The third choice is a personalized service or gathering unique to your loved one and depicted by this sentence:
My loved one lived a life!
We now know a life ended and recognize what that life meant and will always mean. Studies have shown that services help you on your healing journey as well.
(First printed in the Gazette on February 22, 2018)
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