How to Honour Your Departed Loved Ones*

*This is a collaborative post*

The passing of a loved one is a moment in life that you never forget. Even under the most peaceful and natural of circumstances, it’s difficult to process the grief of losing someone we love. Although we say our goodbyes, this doesn’t mean how we feel suddenly stops. In fact, for a lot of people, the grieving process continues for years, sometimes never stopping but rather lessening in its intensity. 

Our loved ones may have physically left us, but they’re never truly gone, which is why honouring their memory is so important to people. By keeping their memory “alive”, you’re able to create a tangible connection between yourself and your loved one; for some, this is the best way to control the emotions they’re feeling. Should you be interested in honouring their legacy, know that there’s no end of ways you can do this respectfully and in a manner that suits you. 

A Personal Candlelit Vigil

A beautiful way of honouring your loved ones is by lighting a candle in their memory. Often people choose to go to church and be inside a religious place, however, you don’t have to do this. You can just as easily light a candle in memory of your loved one, with the added comfort being that you’re inside the comfort of your own home, likely a place they knew well. If you’d like to involve more of your family and friends, you could arrange a larger candlelit vigil so that you can all come together in those memories. 

Grow A Memorial Garden

Equally as beautiful but for different reasons, is establishing your own little memorial garden. Sometimes where our loved ones are buried/cremated isn’t in the local proximity, which can make it difficult to go visit them throughout the years. By having a memorial garden within your personal outdoor space, you can visit and honour your loved ones whenever you want. You can grow this garden into a symbol of your affection, planting flora that they appreciated, by investing in headstone memorials and gravestones, and by spending time in such a calming space. You can even spread some of your loved ones’ ashes there, to add even more of a connection to their memory. 

Taste A Familiar Meal

Throughout our lives, we all find a particular food and/or meal that invokes strong memories, some of which can be connected to the people we experienced that food with. If the person who’s passed on had a favourite meal, or a recipe you used to make together, this is a creative way to keep their memory alive. The process of making the dish, as well as smelling and tasting all of those flavours, will immediately connect you to them in a way that few other memorials can. Of course, such a memorial choice can be momentarily overwhelming, so make sure that you’re in a comfortable setting before trying it.

 

*Contributed by Sam Jones. *Photo Image Credit.

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