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- - Funerals - -

Funerals and Remembrance Ceremonies are sad occasions.  Yet they may also be an occasion in which we may search for and find much joy, for we will be remembering our friend, our loved one, and the good times and joy we shared. 

 

In times like this, the passing of a person we know and love, some of us find solace in the belief we know where that person’s spirit has gone. Some of us may take the opportunity to reflect on the meaning in our own life; the paths we have travelled; the destinations for this journey we are on.  As we do so, we may find different answers to questions, different hopes and fears, different paths to take on this journey of life.  Some of us have faith as Christians, and do our best to follow in the steps of Jesus.  Some may follow the path of the Buddha; perhaps others follow that of Mohammed. We may be Jewish, we may be Hindu. Some of us may not embrace any organized Religion, but simply rise each day and do the best we can to do the right thing, treat each other as we would be treated, and hope that through doing so we will find happiness and peace of mind at the end of our day and at the end of our life.

 

I’ve heard it said that the spirit of life itself, the spirit that animates this clay, can be thought of as a large ocean, of unfathomable depth, of incomprehensible breath, beauty and power.  We are but a wave, flowing out of that ocean for a brief time, only to eventually recede back to its source.  Some waves come ashore for a long time… many, many years.  Some are ashore for but too brief a time.  If you can think of the spirit of your departed loved one as a wave from this ocean, how would you describe that wave?  Was it a wave that gently lapped the shore, comforting those it came upon, soothing, reassuring, and providing some respite from weariness?  Was it a wave that thundered, roared, crashed against the shore, exciting those it might have splashed inadvertently or intentionally?  Perhaps it was some of both.  Perhaps it was much more.

 

In a ceremony such as this I include readings I have come across that I believe might be appropriate for this remembrance. Likewise I invite any and all attendees, who choose to do so, to share their own remembrance of the departed.  In this process we will hope to mourn and share our loss, as well as to celebrate the fond memories and the joy we have shared.

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