Being Remembered Is A Good Thing

We are back in Colorado after an exhausting couple of days in Ohio and Kentucky for Donnie's funeral.

It was very odd to see Donnie in an open casket. It's quite upsetting to some people but for me its comforting because the essence of the person is so clearly not there. They have gone elsewhere and shed this husk they leave behind. I have no clue where they went but I am certain that they have gone someplace good.

The good thing about funerals is the family and the openness. I find people more open about life when the 500 lb. gorilla called death is in the room. It was a great service with lots of heartfelt memories shared about Donnie.

We buried him in the family graveyard that overlooks the farm where Donnie and his five older siblings grew up. So its not one of those big factory cemetery warehouse things. Its family. He's buried next to his Dad with uncles and aunts and other family members. Family goes up to tend to the graves often and will no doubt remark on Donnie's grave and life just like we did others when we finished our service for Donnie.

As I looked down on the family farm from the hill where the cemetery is laid out, the sun was warm on my back, the wind was still, and the family was talking and laughing and being somber all at the same time. And I knew that Donnie was safe, wherever he was. That somehow, our remembering him, our celebrating his life, was helping him on his journey.

Being remembered is a good thing.

Namaste.