Death is coming

The closer death creeps up upon me the less I am able to understand the reasons for life or living.

Yes I have experienced a close family member dying and unlike television it takes decades to handle such a thing. To think I am going to put my family through such a thing when I finally leave is more horrific to me than the thought of death itself.

My life was and is still a learning experience but when all said and done what am I to do with all this accumulated learning over my lifetime if I just die. There is no logic or reason to this.

Long ago I became aware that the God story that is sold to the majority is just a nice story to give mankind with a message of a basic layout of how nice life could be if everyone followed these ideas. Not many in life do and if one thinks about it the good and evil structures actually depend on each other. The good that can be experienced in life is only understood as good when there is it's opposite to compare it to. This is not rocket science only common sense in reality. I am not saying we need to experience bad but understanding in it is needed to appreciate the great things many of us can have in our lives. From birth to death there are many ways mankind helps his fellow man. How many ways can you help?


Sunday, December 20, 2009

Trees as Memorial Gifts

By Gareth Z Mitchell

Whether you have lost a loved one or you know someone who has, there are many different reactions that you might have. You might be shocked that they are gone, you may be regretful for the opportunities that you missed or you might find yourself looking for a way to celebrate the life that they led. Many people who are grieving over a loved one find themselves looking for a meaningful memorial, and this is where memorial trees can come in.

Trees are wonderful additions to any area and in many ways, you will find that these are bereavement gifts that can be a benefit to the people who are mourning as well. A tree is not a graveyard where you focus on lost chances; instead, you will be outside, standing under the shade of a living thing and rejoicing underneath it.

Remember the way that the departed touched your life or the lives of the everyone around them. Remember the way that a tree reaches out and provides shade and cover to everyone who comes near it. If you are mourning a person who you learned a great deal about life from, a tree would be a beautiful way to commemorate that.

One thing that people won't forget about trees is that they will live for a fairly long time. They can serve as a reminder for the people who are left behind that life does go on, and that just because someone is no longer alive, it doesn't mean that their presence is gone.

Think of an area that the deceased cared about very much, whether it was a park, a yard, or a natural preserve of some sort. Talk to the people who oversee it or take care of it, and the chances are high that they would love to have a new addition to the property. Adding memorial plaques can help everyone recognize the tree as the garden memorial that you want it to be.

When you are looking to remember someone who was important to you, try to look off the beaten path. A tree is something that everyone can benefit from, and when people are in a place where they want to have a living reminder, and not just a stone or a plaque, a tree stands in quite well.

When you are thinking of trees, think of all the positive associations that you have with them. Do you find that you are in a place where you are going to be able to move forward and to feel comforted? Consider how trees make you feel and what kind of memories of the deceased that you want to remember.

Trees can commemorate loss as memorial gifts in a deeply meaningful way, so think about what trees might mean to you and to the people you care about!

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