I view these crusades as a platform to encourage creativity. I love that so many of you have plugged in and shared of yourselves. I see and hear of new friendships being made and that is so cool. I witness encouragement through comments given and received. I have tried to present challenges to get you doing something for yourself – maybe something new or something revisited, but something that we all do so we can learn additional tricks in the process of sharing. I have some crusades in the hopper where we will carry on making stuff but this month I have an assignment for you I feel passionate about and I hope you will give it some consideration – if not now, then sometime soon.
If you’ve been following along with my personal life on my other blog you know that I recently lost my sister. I was in the privileged position to discuss final wishes with her. I was present and therefore able to think out loud with her and later follow through. It is a difficult thing to communicate about this kind of stuff but it is even harder to plan a farewell while you are coping with immense grief. While in the midst of all the preparations I kept thinking to myself: I need to think about and write down my own wishes and I'm going to tell everyone I know to do the same.
This month I challenge you to think about the unthinkable. Consider what, if any, final wishes you might have. Write them down and tuck them away in an envelope in your jewelry box or bible or special place. I truly believe it is a gift to your loved ones to spell out your preferences. We may think that none of it really matters because we are in a better place but if you have thought it through, even to the smallest degree, you may diffuse a lot of tension.
I can barely write this post which is proof of how we dance around the subject of death. My experience makes me passionate about asking you to give this subject some thought. I’m not going to spell out all the things that I think you should be writing in your Final Wishes letter – you will know what’s right for you. You may find your letter gets longer or shorter as life experiences give you addition insight. There are many sites that can be of assistance if you need a jump start. Click here for one. Think of how much planning went into your wedding. Now imagine something just as significant to your family, but with less time, compounded by grief. It’s a gift to do this. We hope to lead long, healthy lives and doing this doesn't alter that perspective - but we shouldn't leave difficult decisions to our loved ones if we can help it.
I don’t want this to be a morbid or morose exercise. It can be thought of as a loving act. Do it for you, do it for your loved ones. Back in high school we had an assignment to write our own obituary. It was a lesson in goal setting and forecasting as we imagined what we hoped would be said about ourselves. Writing my obituary didn't make me suicidal, just like deciding where I want to be buried, or if I want to be buried, doesn't mean I want to die. Do you know the poem The Dash? The day we are born and the day we die doesn't mean as much as what we do with dash between. Think of this crusade as a similar assignment.
For this crusade: write a private letter stating some of your final wishes. Do this for yourself, and if you choose to post about it come back here and leave a comment and I will add you to the link list. You are always welcome to participate in any previous crusades – just announce accordingly and I will label your link. For instance, if you want to revisit Get Gothic I will label your link (C13). If this isn't up your alley, I get it. I'll be back next month with something to get your hands messy.
CRUSADE No. 24 ~ Final Wishes DUE DATE November 1st
Edit: Achived links have been moved from sidebar to here.