Write Your Own Eulogy

Jazzfuneral

Let me clear two things up right off the bat: 1) this post is not about religion, and 2) it is a little morbid but stick with me!  We are all going to pass away someday. Whenever that happens hopefully some people will be kind enough to say a few words at our post-mortem goodbye party (I don’t know about y’all but I want a Jazz funeral with a party after, #turndownforwhat).   The question is…what will they say?Maya Angelou famously once said, “People will forget what you said.  People will forget what you did.  But people will never forget how you made them feel.”For me, I live my life according to what I want to be said in my eulogy.  The choices I make, the manner in which I interact with others, and the way I determine what is right and what is wrong, all coincide with what I hope someone will say at my funeral party.  In the long run I can’t ultimately determine what will be said, but I can control what comes out of my mouth and who I share my vulnerable-self with today, and tomorrow, and etc.I have unfortunately been to a lot of funerals.  Celebrations of people who got to live very long lives and others whose time was taken too quickly.  No matter how much time someone spent on this earth, you can tell very quickly who lead an impactful life and who didn’t.I am living a good life but I know there is more that I can and will do. You may think that as a speaker that means I want more and more people to hear my messages.  While that is true I also need to do a better job at letting others in to show them the unpolished version of myself as well.   I think if I passed away today a lot of people would appreciate the time I took to get to know them but in the same breath say they didn’t really know a lot about me.  That just means I have work to do!How about you?  What do you want to be said at your eulogy?  Will people be there because they were obligated to or because in their right mind there’s no way they would miss it? If I asked 10 people in different facets of your life how you made them feel, what would they say?  I’d love to hear you thoughts on this, so let’s keep the conversation going in the comments section below!-JTR