Sometime back, a friend shared a story related to funerals. Apparently, an acquaintance of this friend could see the deceased every time he attends a funeral and according to him, most of the deceased look sad and devastated to be leaving this world while some are totally confused; wondering what is happening or rather, still grasping with the fact that they have moved on to a “different world”.
While this story does sound eerie and creepy, I could not help but to wonder what state I would be in if I were attending my own funeral. Would I be desolate? Would I be in denial? Would I be afraid? As I allowed my thoughts to ponder further, I figured that if it were true that we will be present at our own funeral, I would want to be having a good time and take it as an opportunity to celebrate life instead of being gloomy and feeling doomed.
In my Ten Commandments which summarizes how I operate as an individual, one of my key beliefs on how life should be lived was to “live every day as if it was the last” and I consciously remind myself of this by asking the question “what if tomorrow never comes?” With that, it comes as no surprise when people who know me well enough at times call me an “insane extremist” – pushing a bit too hard when I could perhaps take it easier; wanting to go too fast when I could perhaps slow down the pace; talking too much when I could perhaps just keep quiet for once. I could go on and on sharing more examples of how I live to the extreme but, I will just label the other extremes as “so on and so forth” for now to save the individuals reading this from boredom.
Back to the topic of funerals, my take on those who are gloomy while attending their own funeral are individuals who have not really done enough while still alive. As a result of which, these individuals are probably regretting and hoping that they had one additional hour or one additional day to at least complete some of the many things that they have chose to procrastinate or set aside for the time being. In my mind, the saddest way to bid farewell is to know that there are unfinished business and what’s even sadder is to know that it could have been accomplished a long time back if only we did take the initiative to. Hence, we can’t blame some “deceased” attending their own funerals to be solemn and gloomy.
If this is a movie and I am the script writer, I would pen my own ending in a fairy tale like manner. Instead of dark clouds and gloomy skies, the day my funeral would be held would be bright and shiny with a nice breeze of wind. There will be birds chirping and those attending my funeral ought to be able to smell the freshness of the newly mowed lawn. As sand and dirt is being shoveled on top of my “new wooden bed” placed six feet underground, those attending my funeral need not be feeing sad. They should in fact be happy, knowing that I have led a fulfilling life. If anyone were to even look a wee bit solemn, I might just attempt to kick their ass or tickle them so that they will be laughing.
For those who have not yet realize that the only certainty in life is death, it is about time that we all wake up and acknowledge the fact that it is just a matter of time before we would have to bid farewell to this beautiful world. Having said that, we should also then start living life to the fullest and try to accomplish as much as possible on a daily basis. Personally, I have been constantly reminding myself of this and have set to live life to the fullest everyday. I want to appreciate all the good things that I encounter and show gratitude to those who made it possible. In contrary; when things are not going my way, I want to move on with life instead of whining and cringing. While I could be egoistic at times, I remind myself that a man on his death bed would have no time for ego and as such, I would want to learn from mistakes and be the first to apologize when I am in the wrong.
While it’s probably necessary to think with the head most of the time, I try to strike a balance by following my heart when it comes to certain things for I will probably end up not attempting many things if I were to rationalize and try to be logical over everything. Sometimes, we just need to unleash the “kid” in us and do things out of wants and desires rather than do what others would perceive to be right. I see nothing wrong in saying “no” to others if that is what I really have in my mind. I see nothing wrong in insisting on doing something even when everyone else is advising me against it. Afterall, it is my life and I do not want to be spending the rest of my living days wondering “what if” or to be asking myself “what could have been”. That would be real painful and I would probably end up dying a lot faster if I had to deal with the guilt of “what if” on a daily basis.
Nonetheless, one of the fundamental rules in living life to the fullest is stick to the path that we have chosen and to strive to put our best into what we have decided on. Nothing irritates me more than those who make a decision only to give up very quickly simply because that path was a bit too tough. One should never regret the path he has chosen and should only consider switching paths after exhausting all means. As the saying goes, “if we were to fall, let’s fall fighting!” Nothing in life is assured and as long as we put our best feet forward, there should be nothing to be ashamed of or to be afraid of even if we were to fail. In fact, I would personally be ashamed of myself if I were to be afraid to try something for the fear of falling or failing. If we were to attempt even the craziest thing, there is still a 1% probability of success vs not trying where it is a guaranteed 100% failure. This too is one of the values I try to uphold as I believe that we will never know if we did not ask and we would never know if we did not try.
Having gone around in circles, I would just draw back to the day of my funeral. If I were to attend my funeral, I would want to be sitting in a corner looking at all my loved ones bidding farewell to me for the last time. I would probably have a glass of whiskey in one hand and a cigar in the other while I smile to myself reflecting on the fulfilling life that I would have led. If I were to attend my own funeral, I would want to be the happiest person knowing that I have lived a life of no regrets and nothing left undone……
While this story does sound eerie and creepy, I could not help but to wonder what state I would be in if I were attending my own funeral. Would I be desolate? Would I be in denial? Would I be afraid? As I allowed my thoughts to ponder further, I figured that if it were true that we will be present at our own funeral, I would want to be having a good time and take it as an opportunity to celebrate life instead of being gloomy and feeling doomed.
In my Ten Commandments which summarizes how I operate as an individual, one of my key beliefs on how life should be lived was to “live every day as if it was the last” and I consciously remind myself of this by asking the question “what if tomorrow never comes?” With that, it comes as no surprise when people who know me well enough at times call me an “insane extremist” – pushing a bit too hard when I could perhaps take it easier; wanting to go too fast when I could perhaps slow down the pace; talking too much when I could perhaps just keep quiet for once. I could go on and on sharing more examples of how I live to the extreme but, I will just label the other extremes as “so on and so forth” for now to save the individuals reading this from boredom.
Back to the topic of funerals, my take on those who are gloomy while attending their own funeral are individuals who have not really done enough while still alive. As a result of which, these individuals are probably regretting and hoping that they had one additional hour or one additional day to at least complete some of the many things that they have chose to procrastinate or set aside for the time being. In my mind, the saddest way to bid farewell is to know that there are unfinished business and what’s even sadder is to know that it could have been accomplished a long time back if only we did take the initiative to. Hence, we can’t blame some “deceased” attending their own funerals to be solemn and gloomy.
If this is a movie and I am the script writer, I would pen my own ending in a fairy tale like manner. Instead of dark clouds and gloomy skies, the day my funeral would be held would be bright and shiny with a nice breeze of wind. There will be birds chirping and those attending my funeral ought to be able to smell the freshness of the newly mowed lawn. As sand and dirt is being shoveled on top of my “new wooden bed” placed six feet underground, those attending my funeral need not be feeing sad. They should in fact be happy, knowing that I have led a fulfilling life. If anyone were to even look a wee bit solemn, I might just attempt to kick their ass or tickle them so that they will be laughing.
For those who have not yet realize that the only certainty in life is death, it is about time that we all wake up and acknowledge the fact that it is just a matter of time before we would have to bid farewell to this beautiful world. Having said that, we should also then start living life to the fullest and try to accomplish as much as possible on a daily basis. Personally, I have been constantly reminding myself of this and have set to live life to the fullest everyday. I want to appreciate all the good things that I encounter and show gratitude to those who made it possible. In contrary; when things are not going my way, I want to move on with life instead of whining and cringing. While I could be egoistic at times, I remind myself that a man on his death bed would have no time for ego and as such, I would want to learn from mistakes and be the first to apologize when I am in the wrong.
While it’s probably necessary to think with the head most of the time, I try to strike a balance by following my heart when it comes to certain things for I will probably end up not attempting many things if I were to rationalize and try to be logical over everything. Sometimes, we just need to unleash the “kid” in us and do things out of wants and desires rather than do what others would perceive to be right. I see nothing wrong in saying “no” to others if that is what I really have in my mind. I see nothing wrong in insisting on doing something even when everyone else is advising me against it. Afterall, it is my life and I do not want to be spending the rest of my living days wondering “what if” or to be asking myself “what could have been”. That would be real painful and I would probably end up dying a lot faster if I had to deal with the guilt of “what if” on a daily basis.
Nonetheless, one of the fundamental rules in living life to the fullest is stick to the path that we have chosen and to strive to put our best into what we have decided on. Nothing irritates me more than those who make a decision only to give up very quickly simply because that path was a bit too tough. One should never regret the path he has chosen and should only consider switching paths after exhausting all means. As the saying goes, “if we were to fall, let’s fall fighting!” Nothing in life is assured and as long as we put our best feet forward, there should be nothing to be ashamed of or to be afraid of even if we were to fail. In fact, I would personally be ashamed of myself if I were to be afraid to try something for the fear of falling or failing. If we were to attempt even the craziest thing, there is still a 1% probability of success vs not trying where it is a guaranteed 100% failure. This too is one of the values I try to uphold as I believe that we will never know if we did not ask and we would never know if we did not try.
Having gone around in circles, I would just draw back to the day of my funeral. If I were to attend my funeral, I would want to be sitting in a corner looking at all my loved ones bidding farewell to me for the last time. I would probably have a glass of whiskey in one hand and a cigar in the other while I smile to myself reflecting on the fulfilling life that I would have led. If I were to attend my own funeral, I would want to be the happiest person knowing that I have lived a life of no regrets and nothing left undone……
