A Funeral that Reminded Me

I was fortunate enough to attend my uncle’s funeral recently. Nick was a great man. It was an honor to pay tribute to him, and to support his family.

Uncle Nick was a member of a branch of the Catholic Church called Eastern rite. It was a beautiful ceremony.

At the funeral many rituals were performed. The chanting was beautiful, and it was very meaningful.

 I am not part of that particular religion, but I have a tremendous respect for the people who practice it. The commitment to what they were doing was obvious.

There was a time in my life when I had judgments about different religions. I was in a particular religious group, but didn’t fully agree with the tenants of it. That was a conflict for me.

I moved away from that group into a much more loving and compassionate spiritual community. In this community I found what I was looking for. I found acceptance of different points of view, an embrace of different religions, and a belief that everyone has a right to decide for themselves what works and what doesn’t. 

The biggest difference between my former religion and my current community is the belief that a loving Being is not demanding anything from me. It may seem like chaos to the outside observer, but it is centered on some core beliefs of respecting the individual to be able to make up their own mind. There is no fear or oppression from anyone in authority. And, the belief that we all have direct access to God is a huge part of what makes this group attractive to me.

Going back to the funeral, there were a lot of people there. It reminded me that we don’t know how many people we influence in our daily lives. My uncle Nick was such a loving and caring individual. He was a loving father and a devoted husband to his wife Ruth.

As we go about our day, we are usually not aware of how many people we influence. At work we serve an important role, and in our family there are people who depend on us.  We are usually not conscious of our influence on others. I hope that in some way, Uncle Nick was able to see how important he was to people.

It was a sad day. But, it was also a day to celebrate the life of this amazing man. And, it was an opportunity to remember how precious life is.  This human life of ours goes by quickly. It is far more beautiful than we realize at the time we are experiencing it, and we are much more important than we realize.