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Memorial Services - Using Poems and
Untraditional Methods to Remember Someone's Life
By Ben Anton
Grieving a lost loved one is never easy. One of the best
therapies for this grief is to honor their life and give
them a memorial service. Most people don't think beyond
the traditional memorial service. There are many
alternative, or untraditional, memorial service options.
These can range from simple memorial poems to elaborate
funeral memorials. When searching for the perfect
memorial for a loved one don't forget some of these
other options.
Some people opt for the traditional memorial service at
a funeral home or graveside. These can be enhanced by a
nice memorial poem. Poems for lost loved ones can range
from simple, emotion-filled lines to elaborate, flowing
pieces with imagery and structure. These poems may be
read at the service, posted online in honor of the lost
loved one, shared with family, or simply kept with other
mementos. The simple act of writing one's feelings has a
very therapeutic effect and can help the healing
process. Others may be having the same feelings and
emotions and by reading the poem it may help them work
along the grieving track.
The internet offers many other options, as well. Posting
the obituary online or online funeral messages may help
spread the word. Online memorials set up for a loved one
can help to speed the healing. This offers the
opportunity of celebrating their life. Posting their
accomplishments and pictures will allow all those unable
to make it to a service to grieve, also. A collage of
photos, favorite quotes, favorite song clips, and even
links to their favorite causes can fill this online
memorial. This can be an evolving memorial. Allowing
others to post their memories and special times with the
lost will truly celebrate their life and honor them.
Open it up and allow others to post favorite pictures or
quotes from the person and watch as the memorial takes
new shape and memories blossom.
Some people take this even farther and have an online
funeral. This allows everyone to reach out and help each
other heal. Those who are limited due to disability,
geography, or other hurdles may attend an online funeral
and share in the sadness and joy that may accompany a
celebration of the loved one's life. Video feed from the
actual funeral service can be placed online or fed live
during the service. Others will feel as if they are
right there and feel a part of the process. This allows
everyone the opportunity to be involved with laying the
person's soul to rest.
When deciding on how to remember a loved one the
possibilities are endless. Imagination can go a long way
when planning an untraditional memorial. A video showing
clips and photos of the person with voice-overs from
family and friends is a good option. Planning a
celebration of the person's life centered on things they
enjoyed can help everyone remember them as they were in
life. A memorial service for an avid scuba diver might
take place in a favorite dive spot, or even underwater.
The memories, and tears, may flow freely but the
cleansing nature will be helpful. Share joys and
favorite times and honor them in a place where they
found joy.
Another popular form of memorial for a loved one is to
give to a charity or favorite cause in their name.
Taking this theme a little further, some families have
volunteered, as a group, to assist the cause. A trip to
the local Red Cross Blood Donor Center in honor of a
lost loved one who volunteered with Red Cross would make
a great tribute to their accomplishments in life.
Whether giving money or blood, this is a true memorial
to a loved one.
Whether holding a traditional funeral service or an
untraditional online memorial, the most important step
after the death of a loved one is to start the healing
process. This involves going through the grieving
process and finding a way to honor and remember the
person. If posting their history and memories to a
public website does not feel right, make a special,
password-protected site that only family can access. It
becomes an intimate memorial but allows those separated
by geography to share in the grieving, and healing,
process. Remember, a memorial for a lost loved one can
be a simple poem or an elaborate memorial service, but
the most important factor is the celebration of their
life and accomplishments.
~Ben Anton, 2007
Online Funeral Memorials - Remember your loved one in
the virtual world on the Valley of Life web site. The
website features a forum for asking questions, memorial
and grief poems and information about loss. |
