The previous post was about life. This one is going to be about death. The two sides of the existence coin.
My uncle died last Friday. He’d been fighting cancer for a while, but the disease had a good start, and won the battle in the end. My perception of death has been on my mind a lot the past week, and I realised that I’m so calm about it that it borders on being blasé. I doubt that I’m ever going to feel sad about his passing. I even really enjoyed the funeral. Like stepping into an 80’s movie, I watched friends and family hold hands, exchange long hugs, an look at each other with half-smiles, not saying anything. The unspoken languages. I love it.
I suppose I just enjoyed watching people swell with emotion, confusion, relief; death and life intertwined into every moment. People from the past. So many people whose paths crossed with his – I could trace my memories of their family just by glancing around and spotting the familiar faces of people I met years ago. People that I’ll never know. Maybe I just enjoy seeing humans being human.
Funeral moods:
I think the funeral to aspire to, is the one at the end of Big Fish. A big party in the memory of the deceased, and everyone is laughing through their tears. Today’s funeral reminded me of that, just more.. Afrikaans. Subdued. Relief and love: That was the mood. What would the mood be like at the funeral of a teen suicide? Or a car accident victim? Sudden deaths. Disbelief? Heart-wrenching sobs that haunt you years after?
Here’s to happy funerals.
1 comment:
i hate funerals. won't go if i didn't know the person personally. have been to a few, including suicides and i can attest to the fact that they aren't pretty.
have also been to ones where my heart felt torn out and on fire while still beating. never a nice thing.
i guess death reminds us more of life than we care to aknowledge.
Post a Comment