A final bid goodbye

Today I went to the funeral of my friends mum. I didn’t know the woman well, but I knew her husband and her many sons; all of whom have been good family friends and have always been there in our time of need

I went to the funeral with a deep sense of dread; with the amount of funerals I have attended recently, I would have thought I’d be numb to the experience, but I’m not. There was once a saying; "young people think themselves immortal until reality shatters their silly notions"... this rings true every time I attend a funeral. At times like these I truly realize how short and fragile life is, and how we really need to appreciate the people around us; friends, family, even mere acquaintances

When I walked into the funeral house, I realized how meaningless words of sympathy were, not that they their selves were meaningless, but the way in which they are delivered was more of a formality and held no real feelings of sympathy or remorse... This of course is not regarding the whole populace, but a substantial number of the people gathered

Perhaps they were like me, and were simply there to offer support to their friends by their presence, and felt a hypocrite if they pretended to be more sorrowful than they truly felt. But then, there’s also a saying, "if there is love between people, and one were to weep, we would not comfort the one who weeps but weep alongside him"

No manufacturing of sympathy was required on my part, for I truly felt it. Yet, I found it hard to offer my condolences without sounding mechanical or merely following procedure, in the end I figured that a simple hug did more than any words, and that’s what I would advise to anyone who is going to any funerals-may he be someone you know or not

Perhaps my thought linger on the subject of death more often than others and that’s why I see it strange the way some merely conform to these social guidelines set forth by the generations without realizing how mechanical it is.

Well that’s all for now..