It’s true! Take a few minutes to jot down how you’d like your goodbye party (aka your funeral) to be, and you will start feeling a bit bubbly. It’s a kick, it really is.
Reflecting over your life, no matter how cursory or deep, gives you a sense of what’s important to you, and there’s your jumping-off point for the vibe you want the celebration to have. And hopefully, it’s a vibe that is lighthearted, celebratory, and not based in mourning, but in rejoicing for your life well lived.
Music, decor (heck yeah! it’s not mandatory, but will certainly add to the spirit), perhaps readings, and very importantly — the distribution of letters you’ve left for people! What better going away present can you leave someone than a note telling them what they meant to you, how much you loved/valued/admired them, your favorite memories of them, and best of all, words of comfort that you had a great life.
Picture as many details as you can… the tone, the gratitude, the love you want to convey to your loved ones. Magically, whatever fear or dread you felt about your own passing will fall away, leaving you more accepting of your mortality.
Remember that the time and place of your goodbye celebration is not set in stone. i.e., in a funeral home asap. Let your peeps know it’s fine to wait, plan it for a time, a season, an occasion, a location — whatever — that has the feeling you want your loved ones to be left with. It could be a baseball game, it could be an art exhibit, a concert, a library. It could be at Home Depot, the airport, the beach, the gym, Times Square, the next solar eclipse.
What you’re after is YOU. Your spirit, personality, values, and essence. Now, while you’re alive and well, jot down the creative and personal goodbye party that will leave your survivors feeling so full and blessed. Make it unforgettable.
And in so doing, you will feel so blessed, right here and now.