Traditions keep us together
Many of my friends have left the planet in the past few years. Still we have babies, weddings and graduations to remind us Life Goes On.
The funeral wasn’t a surprise. He hadn’t been well. I was asked to MC and had only written a few words on a scrap of paper.
Traditions weighed heavily on my mind… I’ve noticed how many people push them aside and don’t understand their importance. Then again maybe those people are starting their own. I know this: humans need anchors in life. We need to be tethered to something or we’ll float away. Our disconnectedness is masked by the illusion of connections via cell phones, iPads, chat rooms and ever-present media.
It was my turn. One of my friends transcribed what I said and handed it to me at the end of the service.
“Humans need to come together and Celebrate all that Life represents.
It’s in these moments we are reminded of our connectedness and our humanity.
~ We attend graduations to remember to Learn.
~ We attend weddings to remember to Love.
~ And we attend funerals to remember to Live.
While we’re here, we’ve been given a Task:
Live for our friends who have gone ahead of us.
Live for the unexplored potential within ourselves.
Live for the possibilities we harbor and have yet to express.
Live for the pure unadulterated joy of being alive.
Here is a friend who has gone ahead.
No one knows when we will follow.
Don’t miss special moments by looking back or worrying too far forward.
Celebrate your breath, your pain, your joy, your suffering, and your lessons.
Love who you are right here, right now.
Don’t compare yourself to others or to that younger version of yourself.
Love those who love you.
Love is all you take with you.
Celebrate your Life.
Honor the lives of our friends taken from us too soon.”
Blessings,
