May 1, 2023
“Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.”
– Joseph Campbell
You can learn a lot about a person’s life from the few simple phrases on their gravestone. Fisherman, fireman, musician, homemaker, seamstress, dog lover. With laser-engraved memorials, there are elaborate depictions of our deceased loved ones doing what they enjoyed most … fly fishing, playing cards, watching the grandkids on the soccer field.
Walking through the cemetery will put you in touch with countless human beings who shared the same sorrows, joys and loves as part of our common humanity. Read them with reverence and say a silent prayer for them.
In the early 19th century, epitaphs began to appear that offered comfort to the bereaved with inscriptions about eternal rest and heavenly reunions. Until then, the messages were grim reminders of the inevitability of death and Judgement Day.
An epitaph can sometimes capture the essence of a person far more eloquently and with more passion than an obituary in the New York Times. Who was this person we loved? Who was this person we lost?
Consider this epitaph from a tombstone in Jaffrey, NH:
“Sacred to the Memory of Amos Fortune
who was born free in Africa,
a slave in America, he purchased
liberty, professed Christianity,
lived reputably, died hopefully.
Nov. 17, 1801
***
You may know your lost loved one as a husband, a wife, a daughter or a son, but their lives comprised more. Much of what they brought to the world that goes unheralded and unrecorded. Honor them with your memories and be thankful they were part of your life.