Acknowledging death
How do you react to that headline? Positively? Negatively? Unmoved? The fact is, one of the most important things we can do - as individuals and collectively - is to acknowledge that we're going to die.
Look - we don't typically know WHEN we're going to die or even how. But what is certain is that at some point in time it IS going to happen.
And, by acknowledging the fact of death you do a couple of important things: Firstly, you make the life that you have that much sweeter and valuable. Secondly, with the acceptance of a finite end point comes the freedom to make plans with the time you have. You can ‘seize the day’, as they say.
To be clear, it’s not about dwelling on death. Rather, it’s being willing to acknowledge it and then, as best as you’re able, to deal with the implications of it.
We don’t know what happens after we die, other than that we will be leaving people behind. Understanding this we can shift our attention to the needs of the people we are leaving - taking practical action to address the key areas that will affect out loved ones, after we die:
creating a written will that deals with our finances
creating a living will that makes it clear what should happen if we are on life support and who can make decisions when we are unable to
providing guidance on what should happen to our body after we have died.
indicating (and possibly paying for in advance) the type of funeral we want.
All of these actions help to ease the burden on your family or loved ones at a time of stress.
But the impact of death goes beyond these. With the death of someone close to us comes the loss of their companionship, their stories, advice and all the kinds of loving words and actions that one can share. You could sum this up as a loss of their presence.
It is this loss of presence that Afterwords.life seeks to fill, providing a means for our presence to be extended beyond our lives, to be present in the moments that matter - big moments like a graduation, wedding - and little moments too, when the desire is strong to hear their voice one more time.
Afterwords.life functions like an ‘emotional will’, helping those left behind to deal with the absence of you, by providing timely messages when they need them most. The messages could help with the issues that occur immediately after death - like sending an explanatory video to be played at the reading of the will, or sharing login details of your digital footprint - your social platform logins, etc. Or perhaps you could share practical advice to be delivered when it’s needed - like parenting tips at the birth of their first child. Or sharing your advice for a happy life on their 21st birthday. Or you could send a heartfelt message on your wedding anniversary. There are lots of possibilities!
Life is precious and acknowledging death makes it more so.