As a generally squeamish person who hates bodily fluids (but loves the humor) and hates pretty much anything to do with bodies, I have always been too afraid to look at a dead body at a funeral viewing. Absolutely terrifies me. This weekend I attended the funeral of my great aunt Marilyn (who we call Zenmaster because she was a professional painter and the most chill person ever). And to get out of a rut, I decided that I would not only look at, but also touch her dead body. I was right to be slightly terrified (she literally was the most chill person ever), it was strange and made me squirm, but it was a pretty cool experience that I can now add as another card in my memory bank. I also got the chance to write down a few short stories about hanging out with Marilyn to give to her family (like the time she was convinced that the wasabi at a Mongolian Barbecue was guacamole), so at least something creative came out of it!
That wasabi confusion has happened to many of us unfortunately. That's a brave feat for someone squeamish. I remember when my grandmother died in 2004, it was really hard to face her casket, to see her lie there, lifeless. She was a perennial optimist who loved her family and loved to talk. Seeing her that way wasn't how I had remembered her– it wasn't her at all. Since then, I haven't looked at the corpse of any of my friend's who have passed away. I like to keep my last memory of them the way I knew them. What did this experience teach you?
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing Omar. I had a really close family member die right before I went on the mission, and I couldn't look into the casket for fear of losing all of my good memories with them and just remembering that dark memory of looking down into a lifeless corpse even though they obviously weren't really like that, was enough to keep me away. I think this was a really unique RUT activity that I'm sorry you had to go through Lizzi, but I hope you did learn something from it!
ReplyDeleteIt's really hard to see someone that you care about when they are no longer with us. I remember when my great grandmother passed away, I had the hardest time looking. I think it's really cool that you found your way through this is a new way.
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