I stopped writing in this blog when my father-in-law passed away. I felt
like the blog had no more meaning if he and his wife were not reading it. Now I
am facing another death with a close friend and I would like to talk about 2
great ways to remember the people we love and that are no longer with us:
I love it when in most Japanese houses I visited, there was a little shrine
like the one in the image with a photo of the ancestors that passed away, and
how people would go every day to pray a little bit to/for that person. The
shrine was always on a room that was visible to everybody that was going in and
out of the house. All guests would see it. Sometimes we don’t feel comfortable
remembering too much that death is around the corner or that death is present
in our day lives, but the Japanese seem to have it very present. If you have
more information about other Asian cultures having similar shrines at home, let
me know.
The home shrine is very comforting for the ones who stay because with it we feel the company and protection of the ones that left. If is also a sign of respect and it comes to say that we don’t forget those people who were so important for us.
Recently a friend of mine told me he had been invited to a party to
celebrate the 4th anniversary of his friend’s mom death. The person
preparing the party wanted to remember her mom and how great she was, and she
wanted to share that joy, grieve and memorial with her friends. A celebration
based on her mother, where she wanted to talk about her mother, who she was,
what she was like, and why she was important to her. This would seem like a
normal memorial celebration if it wasn’t for the fact that none of the people
invited knew her mother! She was in a foreign country and wanted to share that
with her new friends. A great way of remembering a great lady! It seems obvious, right? Why aren't there more of these? Why haven't I ever been invited to one? I think we should have more gathering to remember our ancestors and the people that we love and are no longer with us.
Home shrine
The home shrine is very comforting for the ones who stay because with it we feel the company and protection of the ones that left. If is also a sign of respect and it comes to say that we don’t forget those people who were so important for us.
Celebration
