When a loved one dies, it's never easy to feel sad. One of the best ways to deal with this kind of grief is to remember them and hold a memorial service. Most people don't think about anything else besides the typical memorial service. There are many nontraditional ways to hold a memorial service. These can be as simple as a poem or as complicated as a sculpture. Don't forget about these other options when looking for the perfect memorial for a loved one.
Some people choose the traditional funeral home or graveside memorial service. These can be made better with a nice poem. Poems for people who have died can be anything from a few simple lines full of emotion to long, flowing pieces with images and structure. These poems can be read at the service, posted online in honour of the person who died, shared with family, or just kept with other memories. The simple act of writing about how you feel can be very healing and help you get better. Some people might be going through the same thoughts and feelings, and reading the poem might help them work through their grief.
There are also many other choices on the Internet. Putting the death notice or funeral messages online may help get the word out. Setting up an online memorial for a loved one can help people heal faster. This gives us a chance to celebrate their life. Those who can't go to a service but still want to mourn can do so by looking at pictures and reading about what they did. This online memorial can be filled with a collage of photos, favourite quotes, favourite song clips, and even links to their favourite causes. This can be a memorial that grows over time. Having other people share their memories and special times with the person who died will really honour and celebrate their life. Open it up and let other people post their favourite pictures or quotes about the person. Then watch as the memorial changes and memories grow.
Some people go even further and have a funeral online. This lets everyone reach out to each other and help them get better. People who can't attend a funeral in person because of a disability, distance, or something else can go to one online and share in the sadness and joy that come with a celebration of a loved one's life. You can put a video of the actual funeral service online or stream it live during the service. Others will feel like they are there and part of what is going on. This gives everyone a chance to take part in putting the person's soul to rest.
When deciding how to remember a loved one, there are a lot of things you can do. When making plans for a nontraditional memorial, a little creativity can go a long way. A good choice is a video with clips and photos of the person and voiceovers from family and friends. Planned around the person's interests, a celebration of their life can help everyone remember them as they were in life. A funeral for a person who loved to scuba dive might be held in a favourite dive spot or even underwater. Even though the memories and tears may come easily, the clean air will help. Share happy memories and favourite times, and pay tribute to them in a place where they had fun.
Giving to a charity or favourite cause in someone's name is another common way to remember them. Taking this idea a step further, some families have signed up to help the cause as a group. A trip to the local Red Cross Blood Donor Center in memory of a loved one who volunteered with the Red Cross would be a great way to celebrate their life. Giving money or blood is a real way to remember a loved one.
After a loved one dies, the most important thing to do is to start the healing process. This is true whether you have a traditional funeral service or an online memorial. This means going through grief and finding a way to remember and honour the person. If it doesn't feel right to put their history and memories on a public website, make a special site that only family can get to with a password. It becomes a personal memorial and lets people who live in different parts of the world share in the grieving and healing process. Remember that a memorial for a lost loved one can be as simple as a poem or as complicated as a funeral, but the most important thing is to celebrate their life and what they did.
~Ben Anton, 2007
