Kindness is Going to the Funeral

“But I don’t like going to funerals. I feel awkward, don’t know what to say, and I didn’t even know Julie’s dad,” I said to an elderly mentor.

“Is Julie your friend? Is she hurting?”

I answered both questions with a “Yes.”

“Often times,” my mentor said, “we go to a funeral to support our grieving friend. It has nothing to do with us. It makes a difference that we attend.”

I found out at the funerals of my parents, that it did make a difference. Some people who attended didn’t even know my parents. I felt supported, loved, and understood because these friends were with me during a HARD time.

Besides going to the funeral, send a card. And find the most meaningful card you can. My grandpa Carol, a very unsentimental dude, told me about a card he received after his wife, Ruby, died. “It was the prettiest card and the words were so comforting. I put it on the TV for months.” This card was a little gesture, a kind gesture, that meant so much.

Kindness notices the needs of others. It meets those needs. Kindness is going to the funeral. It is sending a card.

Your Turn . . . Do you attend funerals or do you skip them whenever you can? . . . Have you ever thought about how significant a card can be? . . . What is something else we can do to support a grieving friend?

You can practice being kind by leaving me a comment. 

Want to know what other acts of Kindness are on the list? Go to my Landing Page . . . Scattering Kindness: A 31 Day Adventure of Intentional & Random Acts of Service.  

Please leave me an idea or two that I can add to my acts of kindness list. The idea can be intentional or random.

This post is part of #Write31Days where bloggers write every day in October on one topic. I am writing about Acts of Kindness, random and otherwise. It will be interesting to note how I am different and/or how my community is different

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Go here for yesterday’s post: Kindness is Putting Away Shopping Carts

Related Posts . . . 

• grief has a face, mine, because of chip
• Memory Falters When Dealing With Pain or Grief
• Grief Table of Contents on FruitfulWords

Previous #Write31Days Topics

• MORE vs less: 31 Days of Decluttering 2017
• Finding Laughter: 31 Days of Writing 2015 – Landing Page
• 31 Days of Finishing 2014: Table of Contents & What it is About

Thanks go to Elizabeth Symington for making my #Write31Days button and basic graphic for the kindness quotes. Elizabeth is writing a 31 days series on Summer of Service in Yosemite.