Issue 46.14
Alan Creedy, a business strategist for funeral homes, asked a simple but important question: What should a great funeral be like?
The answer, he says, is “Transformative.” And it should be that way for survivors, friends and even those that didn’t know the deceased.
When someone goes to a good funeral, he or she should feel the same way that George Bailey felt at the end of the classic movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”
“We can say our life has been wasted, but if we have a chance to look back, most of us would see what life would have been like for many people if we hadn’t been there, and it would be transformative,” Creedy says.
In the movie, Bailey himself was transformed from someone despondent and thinking about suicide to someone who appreciated the impact he’d made on others. Imagine if every single person sitting at a funeral service would walk away with the same appreciation of the deceased and their beliefs.
The movie is symbolic. Think of how a funeral service could orchestrate something that would cause people to reflect on what they would have missed without that person. By telling those transformative stories we come to understand the value of our life and perhaps how we can improve. We can also understand that is not necessarily the big noteworthy things that enrich life but the many small acts and thoughts of kindness to others.
Funerals can focus on a person’s significance and their beliefs. “Take a George Bailey and turn him into somebody that’s missed,” Creedy says. “You’ll be able to see the spider web of an impact he’s had over a lifetime. This is not about his hobbies but about the people in his life.”
By looking at another’s life in this way we can perhaps look at our own lives and gain a greater appreciation for impact we can and do have on those around us.
Ron Metcalf can be contacted at Metcalf Mortuary, 435-673-4221.