Would You Attend Your Own Funeral Before Kicking The Bucket?
Living funerals: a morbid joke or a meaningful farewell? A thought piece from Walter
July 30, 2024
I’m jogging along my usual route, earbuds blasting my go-to podcasts. The Global News Podcast from BBC World Service had a real doozy today: Living Funerals. Yeah, you heard me right. It’s apparently a thing now in the UK. The gist? Folks with terminal illnesses are throwing themselves a funeral before they actually kick the bucket. Sounds like something out of a black comedy, doesn’t it?
Got me thinking about my old man. He passed a couple of years ago. Thanks to good ol’ COVID and my decision to live half a world away, I hadn’t seen him in years—FaceTime doesn’t count. He was a stubborn SOB, fighting off cancer, heart disease, and multiple addictions. The man was a walking pharmacy, and not in the good way. His love affair with alcohol ended over a decade ago, but the damage was done. The old bastard managed to mess up his meds and lose most of his eyesight. Yeah, he was a rebel—a 60s child to the core, always railing against the system, the family, and everything in between.
Would I have wanted a living funeral for him? Hell yes. A chance to see him one more time, talk to him, hear his wild stories, and maybe tell him a few of mine. But definitely not in a cemetery or some gloomy church. No way. I’m thinking summer, by a lake, with great food, music, friends, family, and my kids. Lake Garda sounds perfect. And hell no, the ex wouldn’t be on the guest list.
The idea of a living funeral, though, it’s got its critics. Some folks say it’s just a way to dodge the reality of death, to push it away and make grief even harder. Maybe there’s some truth to that. But if you’re staring down the barrel of your own mortality and you decide to throw a goodbye bash, aren’t you facing death head-on?
Honestly, I’m more laid back about it. If someone wants to have a living funeral, go for it. But what if my best friend threw one? Would I go? How do you act at something like that? Do you dance around the elephant in the room? Do you cry? Do you just try to act normal?
I’ve lost people before—grandparents, my dad, a friend from handball. Death has always hit me like a freight train. I’m not good at dealing with it - who is really? So, a party where we’re all pretending everything’s fine when we know it’s not? That’s a tough one to wrap my head around.
What about you? Have you experienced something like this? What do you think about living funerals?
It’s a heavy topic today, folks. Can’t all be sunshine and daisies.
So long, stay healthy, and stay alive,
Walter
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Current Books in Parallel Reading:
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Pyramid of Success by Coach Wooden
Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Habits I’m Working On:
• Fitness & Health: More sports, healthy eating, no junk food, lots of veggies, and less sugar. Aim: Sports 4 times a week (weights and running).
Mindset: I’m a runner and I’m healthy.
Status: yes 45 min run this morning; intervals: slow, fast, faster, slow, fast, slow, very fast
• Dental Health: Flossing daily to avoid crowns and root canals.
Mindset: I have healthy teeth and I don’t hear the drill sound anymore
Status: no joy
• Writing: Practice, practice, practice—daily diary entries, no excuses.
Mindset: picked a random topic today and not a bad piece I think
• Weight: 112 kg (still still no scale)
Mindset: I’m a healthy and control my weight to feel better
Consecutive Days Posting on Walter’s Diary:
Twenty-One (21)