Losing a loved one is never easy and it’s something you never really get over… you just simply learn to live without them. Learning to live without them doesn’t mean that you’re leaving their memory behind, it simply means that you’re finding a way to keep living your life while keeping their memory alive. Whether your loved one recently passed or died many years ago, their memory will live on with you.
In losing a loved one, you’ll soon discover your grieving process. You might not cry at the memorial or the wake but when you get home by yourself, you might burst into tears. Some people might look at you not crying as a lack of emotion when really it’s just the way you grieve. There’s no right or wrong way to grieve but one of the best ways to grieve is to celebrate their memory.
There are so many different ways to celebrate the memory of a loved one. Some places celebrate and honor the dead with a festival… The whole point of celebrating the life of a loved one is to keep their memory alive, so that means that you can celebrate their life however you want to. You can get as creative as you want and as sentimental as you feel. According to mindbodygreen.com, you just have to recognize that the way you celebrate their life is your way of handling your emotions the best way you know how to.
As mentioned earlier, losing a loved one is never easy and it’s not something you’ll get over quickly but celebrating their life will help you keep their memory alive. Take a look at some great ways to keep the memory of your loved ones alive.
Release Memory Balloons
Some people like to release memory ballons for their loved ones to keep their memories alive. You can write down your fondest memories on a small piece of paper and blow the balloons with helium and release them on the birthday or significant date of your loved one. Some people look at it as a way of communicating with their loved one, sending them messages in hopes that it reaches them in heaven.
Cook Their Favorite Meals
Maybe your loved one loved seafood or pasta… why not celebrate them by cooking their favorite meals from time to time? It doesn’t necessarily have to be on a significant or special date… just whenever you think about them make a point to cook their favorite meal the next time you decide to cook.
You can turn it into an activity for the whole family too. You can talk about the first time you made them their favorite meal, why they loved it so much, and how they would always ask for seconds… it’s the perfect topic of discussion while eating.
Wear Their Clothes
One of the best ways to surround yourself with their love is to wear their clothes. You don’t necessarily have to wear their clothes out anywhere but sometimes their scent is still on their clothes and to smell that familiar smell can be just the thing you need to make you smile. Maybe it’s their cologne or perfume that takes you back to a time when they were alive and you had the best time with them.
Create a Scholarship in Their Honor
Maybe the loved one you lost was an advocate for education and believed every young person deserved a chance at a college education. The best way to honor that is to create a scholarship in their honor. Maybe look at exceptional students who are in underprivileged areas. The school and student you choose should be one that your loved one would choose.
Facing Your Own Mortality
In coping with the death of a loved one, it forces you to face your own mortality a lot of the times. Based on how your loved one handled their end-of-life arrangements, it should make you look at your own end-of-life arrangements. Do you need to create your last will and testament? Do you need to appoint an agent for your power of attorney?
Those are all questions you need to ask yourself when coping with the loss of a loved one. Death is inevitable and the last thing you want to do is leave this Earth not having any type of arrangements in place in the event of your death. This can be a tough topic to talk about but it’s a very necessary one. Because life is so unpredictable, it’s important that you make your end-of-life arrangements now, before it’s too late.