The Significance of Visiting our Departed Loved Ones

As the saying goes, past is past. But this does not really apply to our loved ones who have passed away. It is true that we should not wallow over regrets, guilt, and loneliness. But it’s still important to pay a visit to the cemetery especially on November 1 or 2 to remember those who have departed in our families.

Every person has a different manner of treating a visit to the grave of a family member or relative. This is because everyone experiences diverse feelings, emotions, and thoughts.

Importance of Visiting the Deceased

There are some of us who may wonder why we should visit the grave of our dead relatives. This can be considered a period of joy, love, pain, sorrow, and sadness all at the same time. Whatever is the reason, this time should be something that is productive and worthwhile.

Here are some points why visiting our departed loved ones, especially on November 1, is highly important.

Ritual of Remembrance

It is important to pay our respects to our dead relatives and remember them. This is based on a story of humans having two forms of death.

Based on this story, the first form of death is our passing away, wherein our own family remembers us and reminisces about the past. Nevertheless, as years passed by, the memory of our departed loved ones may become hazy. When we become completely forgotten, this is where our second death comes into the picture. This is the reason why we should spend some time visiting the cemetery or memorial park where our loved ones have been buried, especially every November 1.

Being able to visit our departed parents, spouse, child, sibling, family member, or friend during All Saint’s Day serves as a reminder to ourselves that their memory is still remembered and treasured. It’s also a time of completely saying goodbye to them, especially if their death happened recently. It is our way of honoring them for what they did when they were still alive.

Time of Healing and Reflection

Visiting our departed loved ones is also a period of healing, catharsis, and reflection. It is a time of reflecting on some of the aspects of our life such as our successes, failures, financial challenges, losses, divorce, or marriage. We may spend our entire life trying to evade death, but in reality, it is something that we cannot prevent from happening.

One way of overcoming our fear of death is to live our life well. We should learn to appreciate our own lives. Thus, spending time with our loved ones in a memorial park or cemetery provides the opportunity to reflect on the life we have.

Reminiscence and Sharing

Visiting our relatives in the memorial park or cemetery allows us to share in their memories and reminisce how the departed have made an impact on our lives. It is also a period of redirecting our focus towards the future. Our relatives who have passed away may serve as a reminder for us to make wise decisions about our future and to focus on improving ourselves.

Life has great purpose and meaning, and somehow, there will come a time that our lives will end in this world. Visiting our departed loved ones in the cemetery or memorial park gives us the opportunity to be reminded regarding the importance of treasuring our own lives and cherishing who has become part of them.