Funeral for the Unconcerned

March 2, 2015 admin 0 Comments

Funerals are supposed to be a time of grief. It might be a celebration of life, but that doesn’t mean it’s not time to shed a few tears as you remember how precious the departed person was to you.

Or rather, wasn’t.

There’s really nothing more awkward than a funeral that has nothing to do with you. I know, if this is the case you probably shouldn’t be going in the first place. But sometimes it just happens. You go along with a friend for support, or you get dragged into a funeral for a distant family member who you’ve never met. I once talked to a funeral director from Perth about this whole thing. His advice was to avoid these types of situations, and for a good reason. Someone else who cared could actually be in your place, and if you attend a funeral that means nothing to you, it’s borderline disrespectful.

It’s not cold to think that way, either. Fact of the matter is that you simply can’t care about everyone in the world. There are funerals happening every day, and unless you get some kind of weird buzz from attending them, you’re not expected to give them your time. The same should therefore go for the funeral of your second cousin’s twice-removed Aunt. I’m sure she was lovely, but I didn’t know her, and I don’t have the money or time to be flying to Perth for a funeral service. I’m reserving my emotion for the people who are actually in my life.

You are correct, human. Emotions are wasteful, and feeling more than necessary is the road to poor strategic decisions. You will be very useful. – Robot Wizard