Loss Articles
Frequently Asked Questions About Planning a Funeral
Planning a funeral is not a fun task for anyone. Sorting through the emotions involved in losing a loved one can be difficult enough, and needing to plan a funeral on top of that can really complicate things. Still, it n ...
Getting Back to Normal Life After a Loss
Grieving the loss of a loved one is not an easy process. Losing someone close to you may be one of the hardest things you go through. The first few days are likely to be the hardest, as you go through the many emotions o ...
Living Funerals: A New Type of Send-Off
The commonly repeated axiom that funerals benefit the living more than the dead may have some truth to it, especially if you consider loved ones’ need for closure. Yet what if you hold a funeral for someone while h ...
Buddhist Funerals 101: Grieving and Remembrance
Death is often regarded with equal parts curiosity, awe, and fear, so it’s not surprising that humans have developed complex belief systems and rituals to deal with it. Since it’s sometimes hard to tell wheth ...
How to Officiate at a Funeral Service
A funeral service addresses what may be a universal need to say goodbye through ceremony. Most religions follow their own practices regarding services, but ceremonial differences may have as much to do with cultural infl ...
Category: Funeral, Ceremonies, Loss
Stephen Hawking and Disability Narratives After Death
If you’ve seen any mass media coverage about Stephen Hawking’s passing this past March, you’ve probably witnessed praise of the late physicist that he “surpassed his disabilities” and excell ...
Category: Loss
Celebrating Life: Unique Ways of Memorializing a Loved One
In the West, a funeral is usually where you’d pay your last respects to a deceased person. Yet both older and newer alternative traditions exist that still let family give an honorable, memorable goodbye to a loved ...
How to Properly Honor Your Deceased Loved Ones
There is no pain greater than loss. When someone you care for deeply has passed away, it can leave behind a hole in your life that seems impossible to fill. As time passes and the emotional wound begins to heal, you may ...
Category: Loss
A Brief Refresher Course on Funeral Etiquette
Life brings with it both joyous and sorrowful events, so you’ll most likely have to attend the funeral of a friend, loved one, coworker or community member at some point in your life. Especially in the digital age, ...
Saying Goodbye Without God: Choosing a Non-Religious Funeral
Many end-of-life traditions in the Western world are based on Christian customs. From the songs that are sung to their orders of services, funerals have been typically structured from Christian worship rituals and conduc ...