Sooo my grandpa died yesterday. Not saying for sympathy, it hasn't really affected me at all yet. I just need to post a rant here and sound off though, or otherwise I am going to start doing it on family member's Facebook status updates.
What is affecting me is the frustratingly dumb and hypocritical things people are saying, like “It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had” Mostly because I've heard this said time and time again, and each time the person just goes back to taking life for granted and saying fml over the smallest thing within a week. I've done it myself.
Seriously for religious people, what's with the disconnect? Really if you believe in a heaven-like afterlife this should be the opposite and you should look forward to dying, as this life is short and painful in comparison to the eternal one that awaits you in a magical golden castle in the sky. This puzzles me as to why there is so much sorrow surrounding Christian funerals. Shouldn't it be a joyous thing for that person... their suffering is done and you truly believe they are in a better place? In which case, all the crying done at funerals is selfish really and people are saying they'd rather keep someone dying in a hospital bed a bit longer than letting them go be happy forever and re-joining them in 30 years.
The next few days are going to go very badly if I don't keep my mouth shut
I don't want anyone to cry over me when I'm dead.
I'll be dead, what do I care?
...
And then my fist will suddenly burst out of the coffin lid. Middle finger raised!
I want people to throw a party when I die. With booze and music and bad jokes about my sizeable manhood.
Cognitive dissonance: A disconnect exists between the concept of a heaven and the event of the death. That it's actually a good thing, or the extent at which it's a good thing. "A better place" doesn't really quite capture what they profess to believe.
Belief: They don't believe it. Or, that is, aren't really clear on what they believe. I have to take them at their word that they believe in the very basic concept of an afterlife, but I'm fairly certain they don't have a clear notion of what that is, nor do they really have any certainty. It's not quite like knowing something is true, however adamantly it may be proffered.
Loss: Whether or not it's good for the other person doesn't dictate emotion. If someone close to you literally moves to a better place, say from a crappy job, to a nice one in another country, it's still going to be a sad occasion for you in that you're losing some touch with them, let alone a death where you know you don't see them for the rest of your life. That exists irrespective of the benefit to the other person.
Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Not that we would ever want to see the day come, but we already have an appropriate burial spot picked out for you: