How will you be remembered?

There are many businesses or organisations which spend time trying to get others to consider their product or service. It seems it’s no different for Adelaide Cemeteries Authority.

I was reading at mUmBRELLA today that they’re currently running an advertising campaign to remind South Australians to think about how they’ll be remembered after death . Their ‘How will you be remembered?’ campaign encourages people to consider their own existence and how they live their lives.

“Contemplating your own death, or that of someone close to you, can be incredibly confronting, so the fact that many of us choose to react when it happens rather than actively discuss and plan for it is understandable,” said Adelaide Cemeteries Authority CEO Robert Pitt.

“Ultimately, we want this campaign to promote community education around life and death by encouraging people to feel comfortable thinking about their own mortality through honest and open conversations with their peers and loved ones. The brand campaign also serves to encourage people to reflect on what’s truly important in life, and to reinforce the importance of cemeteries as places to remember pre and post death.”

They’ve got their work cut out for them. Most people spend their lives actively avoiding the thought of their own death. We seem to have this strange idea that if we don’t think about it or talk about it, it won’t happen to us. Of course the evidence is already in on that one and it will happen to us … one day.

With that in mind it’s probably wise to consider that time, whether it be fast approaching or many years away. I certainly don’t dwell on my own demise but I do pause to think about it from time to time.

The Final Farewell

Sometimes I wonder who’ll turn up at my funeral when my life here is over. Will those who do show up have good things to say or will their silence tell a different story? I will have no chance to control what’s said when the time comes but I can do something about it while I’m still here by the way I choose to live my life. Will I leave friends and family with good memories? That’s up to me and the choices I make every day of my life.

I wonder about what kind of difference I’m making to the wider world. Will I be missed by more than those close to me? Will there be those I’ve never met who will be thankful that I was once alive? Am I making a difference through my work, the choices I make and the way I live?

Skeletons in the Closet

While we’re on the subject of our own passing, or at least I am, I reckon that something worth thinking about is having my family sort through all my belongings. I try to live an honest and open life so there wouldn’t be any surprises, but I’ve heard stories of people passing on, only have their loved ones find out later that the person they thought they knew was someone quite different to the image they had portrayed.

Wouldn’t it be awful for a family dealing with their grief to discover the person they thought they knew was hiding some dark secret?

I reckon the easiest way to avoid having skeletons in our closets revealed after our deaths is not to find better hiding spots, but to ensure that we maintain our integrity both when people are watching as well as when there’s no one else around. We tend to like ourselves a lot better that way too.

I’m not dead yet

I should probably add that my thoughts about leaving this planet aren’t because I’m planning on doing so anytime soon. I’m enjoying life too much to go at the moment. I have a magnificent family, a great job, wonderful friends and a blog that needs updating regularly. I’m not planning on leaving it all behind just yet, but you never know when your time is up.

Being confident that there’s something better beyond the grave isn’t going to convince me to get there any faster than I need to. I believe in life after death but I’d like to ensure that I get to live this life first.

What About You?

Do you ever wonder how it would be if you were no longer around? Will those you leave behind remember you as someone who made a positive difference to their world? Are you involved in things that will mean that your life will have an impact even after you’re gone?

I wonder also if you believe that there’s something more than this life. Have you seriously considered what there may be beyond the grave? Is your daily life reflecting your belief?

I’d love to hear your point of view on the whole subject. I look forward to reading your comments.

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