Obituaries and the lasting effects of death
The last ten days have taken a heavy toll on my mind. It feels like every time I have picked up my phone I have had to read an announcement of death, an obituary or a funeral notification. It just doesn’t seem to end. So it left no room in my mind to think about anything else but death and what this all means.
While some were young lives and shocking deaths, most were very sick or aged people. In such cases one generally heaves a sigh of relief that the dearly departed is free from suffering. However, the untimely deaths, as we call them, seem to hit hard. We question why?
When it seems to happen nonstop though, it’s like a gross wake up call. In a single moment one more person is gone. The time it takes you to pick up your phone and one more soul has moved on from this worldly realm.
Each death announcement has shown me one thing. We are so interconnected. If you attend a funeral you see how many lives have been affected by the loss of one life. That one life has left it’s mark on the lives of so many others and in the world. Their story has been told. Maybe more importantly, the number of people that become present at funerals shows how much we are not alone. There are so many people that we connect to while we are in this world and when we leave they show up to tell how our one life connection held so much meaning.
We have often heard people say “life is short” and while death reminds us of that, maybe it doesn’t really matter how long life is lived. What does matter is how that life was lived and with what intention. The impact that life makes on the world and the people that lived around that life is what is important.
As for the dearly departed, they came, they did their time and they moved on. For those of us reading the obituaries or attending the funerals, it’s time to reflect on our own lives. What time we have left and how we are choosing to spend that time. Look around at who we will leave behind and what story our lives will tell. Rather than fear our mortality, we should think about our legacy. What will be remembered about us. Our lives may be ours to live as we choose to, but the purpose of our existence is not singular. Our story is one part of a much bigger one. Make it count.