tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158738934691648746.post3930332546830601197..comments2011-09-28T14:51:35.474-07:00Comments on PassageWays - Celebrations of Growth and Change: No service will be heldRev. Diane Wuesthoff, PassageWayshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01475220219810944942noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158738934691648746.post-35663274367892486862010-09-09T09:01:16.048-07:002010-09-09T09:01:16.048-07:00Thank you Diane!! This was so moving and inspiring...Thank you Diane!! This was so moving and inspiring. It caused a river of words to flow out of me. Thank you for being a catalyst and providing me with a place to share my story.<br /><br />My friend Kaja died last year. She was 96 and she called me 2 weeks before she died, saying, "If you want to say goodbye you better come now, I feel like I'm dying" - so I dropped everything and drove there (from CT to Long Island). I felt good that I did. She said that she would be writing friends and family "goodbye letters" in lieu of a funeral. This is because she didn't want to inconvenience anyone... because many of her friends and family lived far away. (Unfortunately, for some reason, I never got a letter). The lack of a funeral magnified my loss. I felt worse because I didn't get to celebrate her rich life and celebrate my/our love for Kaja with friends/family. She stayed at a nursing home for the last 5 years of her life.... and made great friends with the visitors! They always looked forward to seeing her and brought her gifts/etc. <br /><br />A persons death is a great opportunity to celebrate their life and our love for that person. Kaja was very spiritual. She believes in the everlasting nature of the spirit. In fact, we felt so immediately connected, we often talked about the idea that we probably knew one another in another lifetime.<br /><br />I hope and pray that people will give deaths as much of a celebration as births. Having a party for someone who is physically departed may seem odd, but if you believe the person's soul is still alive, they can feel your energy and they are present. It also brings a profound feeling of the sacred into the celebration.<br /><br />When my aunt died two years ago, we had the standard funeral but then we all went to dinner and had the chance to share with the family all we loved about Rita. It was healing for them and us. As far as closure, I will never fully be able to grasp the fact that my Aunt was here alive and well and now she is physically gone. It's such a mystery. Her funeral gave me not closure but a confirmation that she is here and that she lives on... somewhere else and in our hearts. It reminded me that this life is precious and temporary, so we need to treasure it, savor it and make the most of it. <br /><br />I'm sure my aunt was present, right there with us. Of course, being Irish, after the funeral we all went back to the house reminisced about my Aunt, joked, laughed, drank, and I even led the group in some old Irish Drinking Songs. God Bless the Irish. :-) It was the ultimate celebration of her life and her ultimate metamorphosis. <br /><br />Your article is so filled with wisdom! I would love to see it article get published in as many publications as possible. Maybe in the obit section. <br /><br />Thank you again!!!!!!!One World Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09846473140813381211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7158738934691648746.post-69852953514703661222010-07-02T13:30:36.825-07:002010-07-02T13:30:36.825-07:00Brilliant! Life and death as contiguous parts of o...Brilliant! Life and death as contiguous parts of one whole is an insight not often shared by those of us gifted(?) with self-awareness - we are plagued with the R brain's imperative for self preservation. Life is tenacious, but the arrow of time is irreversible for us mere mortals.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00932028276766267294noreply@blogger.com