Cemeteries and Death

A classmate recently posted an entry about cemeteries (http://gentleplanet.blogspot.com/2009/03/cemetery.html). This got me thinking. The last time I was in a cemetery was when a close relative had passed away from lung cancer at the age of 67. It was heart wrenching. The only times I have been in a cemetery was for an actual funeral.

I don’t like to go back and “visit” the dead. I guess it stems from my beliefs about death. When we die, our souls leave our bodies behind like abandoned shells. After death my loved one is no longer inside the body kept in the casket.

Plus, whenever I am at a cemetery, I am afraid to walk around because I don’t want to walk on someone else’s grave. That may sound silly, but what can I say.

The way I look at it: I can talk to my deceased relatives anywhere at any time. I don’t have to be standing in front of a grave that harbors their skeletal remains. Now, I will admit to never have lost anyone extremely close to me as of yet. I still have all four of my grandparent and most of my really close great aunts and uncles.

Will my inclinations and beliefs about cemeteries change? Who knows. I’ve heard people saying that going to a loved one’s grave site helps to keep a physical connection to the deceased. I don’t know, but I do know that I will be more than happy to wait another ten years before I will be faced with the answers to these questions.