Top 10 Best Reasons to Go to A Cemetery

The top ten best reasons to go to a what? A cemetery?

Yes, I know it sounds strange. However  I was recently at an unavailing for two children murdered by their psychotic mother.

While cemeteries aren’t exactly fun places and the mark of death is everywhere it dawned on me that if anyone is ever going to a cemetery the group I was with was experiencing one of the worst occasions possible -a reminder of how unthinkably cruel this amazing world can be.

And that’s when I realized there’s got to be a handful of better reasons to visit someone’s final resting place. Here’s my top ten.

1. To Pay Respects: To pay respects to a family member. This is a great reason to go to  cemetery because even though the body has returned to the earth those of us still alive need a place to go and relate to the deceased and a cemetery is a great place to get back in touch with our memories and feelings. Just don’t go every day.
2. To give someone a ride so they can pay respects. You’d be doing them a great service by helping them go and commemorate a person’s life.
3. Genealogy. To Check up on family history and find information on long lost relatives.
4. Sometimes others need help saying prayers.
5. Have writers block or can’t seem to get your next creative writing assignment going? Just head to a cemetery and start writing about some of the names you see.
6. To gain inspiration. Yes, some of the amazing things written about people on head stones can truly inspire us to lead a better life. I mean heck, if they did it so can we.
7. To help bury someone. It’s as simple as that and there’s no greater way to celebrate a life than to help return the body, the vessel that carried the soul, back to the earth.  After all man comes from dust and will return to dust.
8. Cemeteries are good places to give charity.
9. It can be a humbling experience
10. As the old expression goes some people only see each other at weddings and funerals. That means at least there’s an opportunity for certain people to meet up even if it’s for a somber occasion. Doing so can create the potential for increased social  activity, heal old wounds.