Why Do We Do It?
Why do we put ourselves through the grief and emotions of funerals upon the death of a loved one?
The fact is that funerals serve a meaningful, practical, and emotional purpose. Here are some of the reasons funeral services play a crucial role and how they can impact reality.
Funerals Recognize the Reality of Death
The loss of a loved one can feel unreal. It can be difficult to accept. Funeral services help us face the reality of the death of a loved one. Sure, this acceptance can be difficult, but it is also what makes it important to move forward. Acceptance can be both emotional and intellectual.
The Importance of Rituals
Rituals of a funeral can help provide a path to the future. Even the planning process itself can serve as a map forward. Planning, gathering, sharing, and even religious rituals can play an important role in the process.
Funerals Provide a Socially Acceptable Pace for Grieving
Death can leave behind a feeling of loss and emptiness in not knowing what to do. Funerals provide an acceptable time and space for those who gather to cry, laugh, and share memories. It allows us to share and accept condolences in an open manner. It permits us to share our sorrow and grief in a more comfortable situation.
Remembering Our Loved Ones
Funerals serve as a tribute and a way to remember a loved one. It allows us to share personal memories and to recognize just how the deceased touched us individually. Funerals allow us to celebrate the joys and accomplishments of those who have left us.
Funerals help our relations transfer to one that is memory-based.
They Help Us Build a New Self-Identity
For many, the loss of a loved one changes their self-identity. They may no longer be “John’s wife” or “Mary’s husband.” Funerals can serve as a benchmark and establish a starting point for this new self-identity.
Funerals Are an Important Part of a Support System
Funerals help us realize the importance of friends, family, and relationships. They help us realize we are here to lean on each other. It can reconnect us with decades-old relationships.
Funerals Aid in Our Search for Meaning
Funerals can give us pause to ask “Why?” Most are searching for answers and understanding, and funerals can serve as a touchstone for our own meaning. It can reaffirm the cycle of life.
Planning Your Own Final Services
Many who plan their own final services will often minimize their wishes. They may say they don’t want a fuss or visiting hours. They may wish to limit the extent of any final services. It should be noted, however, that funerals are not only for the deceased. They play an important role in grieving, healing, and establishing a point to move forward.
At Fares J. Radel Funeral Homes, we can help you pre-plan a funeral that is respectful and emotionally healing without excess or overspending. We can help you make decisions that comfort those you will leave behind while being modest.
For help in pre-planning your final services with the Cremation Society of Northern Kentucky, we invite you to reach out to us.
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