A funeral can say a lot about how you lived.

I haven't attended many funerals in my life but I have made several observations at the ones I have attended.

I've been to funerals where there was hardly anyone there.  This says to me two things...

1. The person was so old they outlived all of their friends.
2. The person didn't have any friends.  This can happen pretty easily you know.  We get so caught up in the rat race that can be life and not take time for the wants or needs of others.  We can so easily justify self centeredness by saying that the things we are putting on high priority will stop the earth's rotation if they don't get done.  When was the last time you didn't have an agenda?  When was the last time you had friends over not caring about the clock?  Do you even have friends that when they come over they have seen your house in its "natural" state? I want my home to be a place where people are comfortable enough to get up and get into the refrigerator to get themselves a drink.  Where people can lay down for a nap on the couch.  Where children play in the yard while adults sit and talk on the deck until the mosquitoes start to get annoying.

We share this planet with billions of people and yet at the end of our life no one shows up?

I've been to funerals where everyone in attendance knew everyone else.

Now.  You might think that this is a good thing but hear me out.  How often do you branch outside your comfort zone to make new friends?  Maybe they know each other because you are just that good at involving everyone you know in your life or is it that you found a group of friends that thought the same way you thought and you stuck with them for 80 years?  I'm not saying it's a bad thing but I am saying if you went into an ice cream store and you always got the same flavor every time you would be missing out on some pretty excellent flavors.

I've been to funerals where there was a line around the building, there were pockets of familiar people, and no one was really crying.

This is how I want my funeral to be.  I want my funeral to have laughter.  I want there to be people from every chapter in my life who cared enough to take the time to come tell my family how much I meant to them.  I want there to be funny stories, sweet stories and joy.  Joy at a funeral?  Yes, because I am on my way home and I want my family to know that where I am going is a much better place than this earth.

I hope to live a long life, in which I can touch many lives with joy.  I am fully aware that there will be stages in my life where I can get out there as much as others but I hope that at the end of the ride it all evens out.