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reLife Rite
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After life has left, the body may be disposed of however the family wishes but some ways may be more comforting than others. reLife is one
way that may have more relevance or meaning to loved ones.
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We are made of dust and to that our bodies must
return in order to be found again by life. After our cremated remains
are delivered to our family, they may be spread upon the earth. Or,
they may be mixed in equal proportion with soil taken from a locality
dear to the deceased and put in a plain, unglazed clay garden pot.
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Find a location where a long-lived shrub or tree seedling can be planted in the ground. Decide what species of
plant can thrive there. Plant a seed of that species in the garden pot you have prepared. When the seedling is healthy and its family is ready to plant it, the
pot is placed in a hole dug at the preselected place. The pot is cracked
so as to allow the roots to grow out through the cracks, and the soil
filled back in around the pot. For the first year or two, the plant must
be cared for until it is well established. The elements that were once part of a loved one's
life shall be brought back into the embrace of a new life
growing strong under the sun and benefiting from your care. |
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Leaves from the plant or tree can be used in remembrance
celebrations.
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At the births of family members, such as the great‑grandchildren of the
deceased, seeds of this plant can be planted in celebration of their
births. This generation of plants shall bear the seeds that can be
planted at the births of their children and so on as well as sown in their own reLife
pots, or seeds may be used from the tree associated with a parent or
a favourite relative. May this cycle carry on as we
restore the earth's vitality.
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Though the plant can be planted anywhere, imagine a cemetery not of
tombstones but as a forest of trees each named or unnamed in
honour of the deceased.
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Where?
We loved, now I'm gone, you live on,
death dissolves all mortal bonds.
Raw emotions pierce refined faith,
demanding meaning to calm despair.
Let cry your sorrow over love's loss,
as your tears cleanse my absence.
In your shelter of feelings, frayed,
weave memories that mend our rift.
I'm undone like a raindrop upon the sea.
Still, it seems you hear 'me'. How?
Please quiet these earthly remains, deep,
within the embrace of a forest's roots.
Witness our relationship, a chasm apart,
and behold our lives in a dream.
We vessels of love bloomed, fruited,
and with empathy we cultivated goodness.
Forget not the day we found love,
for caring has carried us joyfully.
Ha! Today let us be thankful for love.
How better than to give thanks as a tree :
in the canopy's covenant,
in the leaf's luminance,
in the stem's strength,
in the roots reaching,
in this trunk steadfast for you to lean upon,
in the branches' blossoms,
in the flower's fragrance,
in the pollen's promise,
in the fruit's fullness,
in the seed's salvation.
Caught between my death and afterlife,
you have searched earnestly to confirm either.
Alas, a search in vain has resolved neither,
for the truth resides where You are no longer.
Such a potent mix of feelings and intellect,
whose mortal travails are threatened
whenever they become useless without you,
must be taught instead to guide you outward.
Dear, focus this wellspring of emotions,
so they may flow as a passageway to zoeros.
Unlike so many others yearning for meaning,
whose passion wanders aimlessly, harness empathy.
Cry no more as you uncover this newfound realm,
this reality of music, silent and so soothing,
of unthought thoughts' lucid revelations,
finally sensed by a mind ripe with maturity.
Life's existence is sanctified by our actions,
as empathy makes meaning evermore meaningful.
As we sow goodness so shall we reap meaning.
As we sow meaning so shall we reap goodness.
Here!
Foreseen through evolution, we affirm nature's decree.
Fortified through sacros to manifest meaning's see.
Fortitude denies badness with responsibility.
Formed by life's challenge to live purposefully.
Foretold by how you alone are essentially we.
Forthrightly go in service to life's diversity.
Forget selfishness and the zealot's individuality.
Foregather now your love and endear all humanity,
forward on your empathic path to spirituality,
forever after to resound in selfless eternity.
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inspired by nature |
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