Compliments of the season to you. I started the new year by attending a funeral.
Actually, it’s the second year in a row (almost) that this has happened.
Last year my uncle died the day before Christmas but the memorial service was a week later, to allow time for everyone to get there from all parts of the country and beyond.
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This year it was the husband of a colleague, and brother of two other colleagues, all of whom I have worked with for the past 24 years.
There was a meme/cartoon doing the rounds over the festive season, showing two aliens observing Earth.
One looked at the other and said: Look, they’re celebrating a rotation of the earth around the sun.
The other replied: I told you earthlings were not very intelligent people.
It’s kind of amusing, come on, we have to laugh at ourselves, but it does raise the question of why exactly we celebrate the new year in the manner in which we do.
Why do so many drink and party in a crazed fashion at this time of year?
Perhaps we would be better served if we took a more sombre, reflective approach to the arrival of January 1.
There’s nothing like a funeral to bring sharply into focus what really matters in life.
At both funerals, what was overwhelmingly evident were the strong family ties.
There was an incredible amount of love shown, evidence of strong, healthy families.
This is not to say families don’t disagree and argue. Of course they do.
But at the end of the day, they are what matters most in life.
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