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.
Entry filed under: 31 Days of Writing, Grief, Main, Random acts of kindness. Tags: #Write31Days 2018, acts of kindness, intentional acts of kindness example.
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Karrilee Aggett (@KarrileeA) | . at .
We have had two sudden deaths in our family in two short years… I can assure you that the friends who came to both services, who did not know our brother or mom -but knew us and were there for us… wow… we felt loved! This is such a great reminder that it’s important to reach out! Great post!
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sharybary | . at .
I’m glad I stopped in today. I’ve missed several and I’ll do my best to go back and catch up. I really needed to read this because I feel like I am the worst at sending cards. I might buy them and then lay them around before I get them sent. I’ve sent graduation cards 2 years late. This post will inspire me to do better as you showed me the other side of what it means to others to be thought of and remembered especially in a time of need.
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Kara | . at .
I go to funerals. If I can’t make the funeral and sometimes even if I do, I send a card as well. It really does make a difference to the living loved ones.
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wendyj59 | . at .
I usually go to funerals and often send a card too. I agree with you, sometimes it’s not about the person who has died but more about those still here.
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Friday’s Fave Five – October 27, 2018 | Fruitful Words | . at .
[…] Kindness is Going to the Funeral […]
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