I celebrated a milestone birthday a while ago and was lucky to have friends and family share the occasion with me...but not all my friends and not all my family were there. Like most people, I have lost loved ones, some too early either as a result of a sudden tragic circumstance and others as a result of ill health and incurable diseases.
For each passing, there was a funeral or a memorable service of some sort.
It doesn't matter how many funerals you attend, the feeling of loss, sadness, grief and even guilt lingers afterwards... every single time. Sure, there's moments when, during the formal service, you laugh, but most of the time, it's tears which are shed. It's true what they say about the more things change, the more things stay the same.
I asked myself, what if I could change this ritual of a typical funeral and, rather than celebrate a person's life when they have died, why not honour them and pay respect to them when they are alive.
If it's a case of 'not long to go', a living tribute allows families and friends to share stories allowing the guest of honour and their relatives to feel a sense of closure in these final moments.
If it's a loved one who is approaching a milestone birthday, 70, 80. 90 or the Grand 100, then how gloriously uplifting to be present whilst you pay tribute to them.