Honoring Anniversaries

Some events become important to commemorate annually, in small or big ways. Levels of importance are not always mutually agreed upon in a group or a family, but it is often a great peace act in a home to collaboratively honor those to whom such acknowledgements and nostalgias are important. Values and expectations around marriage or coupling anniversaries are often embedded subconsciously from one’s own early childhood experiences, and are well worth discussing in detail. Anniversaries are opportunities to kindle new sparks, to look back and forward from the present.

Other anniversaries can be a little less obvious, and often remain publicly overlooked. For those who have survived illness, a “CURE DAY” can commemorate the official declaration of wellness stated by a doctor – a new lease on life, a rebirth. This is a tender day of victory. On the other hand, for those who have lost a nearly-born fetus, and may still be struggling with success in pregnancy itself, acknowledgement of this “UNBIRTH DAY” can be extremely nourishing. These two impetuses are not always easy for others to support, because they put us directly in touch with darker experiences and feelings, perhaps fears around death.     

Honoring the complicated nature of life and death is part of the work of a humanist. To develop greater ease with thinking about death as a guide to celebrating life: visit THE DEATH CAFE at https://deathcafe.com, a forum to discuss death and dying to help facilitate joy in living.