Mind & Body

Casting even a brief glance back over your life, you can probably identify lots of moments of unbridled happiness. Intimate moments shared with loved ones, perfect holidays, wild times misbehaving with your closest friends and the occasional blissful reflection on your highest achievements.

Lots of things in fact that mark out a life well lived.

Of course there are regrets, and things that could have gone better - but chances are that, on balance, you feel pretty good about your life.

Go out with a Bang not a Wimper

Chances are too that you’ve had a hand in arranging lots of your life’s key events – from birthdays to weddings, anniversaries and parties. So why wouldn’t you want to have a hand in making the arrangements for the last big gig - your funeral? A chance to celebrate all that was good and important in your life. Chances are you already have a ‘minds-eye’ view of how you want your funeral conducted – and that you would want a positive reflection on your life’s passions, achievements and joyous moments.

So Much to Do

Odds are though that it will be a solemn, joyless and tearful occasion as your surviving family and friends come to terms with their loss. The stark fact is that although most of us have a notion of how we would want to be remembered, only a tiny minority actually do anything about it. As a result, a grieving next of kin is invariably charged with making the final arrangements. Often in a state of shock, they have to somehow juggle their deepest emotions with dealing rationally with funeral directors, florists, a church and car hire company. Selecting hymns and readings; deciding between burial and cremation; choosing a coffin; arranging a wake. Hardly surprising then, that they end up largely following the funeral director’s lead and that the funeral serves up the standard fare – everyone in black, unrecognised hymns and lots of tears. Light years from what you would have wanted.
Then there’s the practical problem of dealing with your affairs: cancelling insurances, finding the Will (if there even is one), cancelling the credit cards, closing the bank accounts, tracking down and ending all your club memberships and charitable donations.

A Different Way of Doing Things

Of course it doesn’t have to be like that. Like most things in life there is an alternative.

Body Shop founder Anita Roddick didn’t just get stuck in the ground – transported in a VW campervan, she was cremated in an organic coffin, at a crematorium which could extract poisonous waste products like mercury.

Country singer Jimmy Dean made sure he was interred in a 3 meter high mausoleum in the shape of a grand piano, overlooking the James River.

The singing sensation Susan Boyle has said she is determined that instead of the bog-standard hymns, she will bow out to the refrain of Nelly the Elephant.

Not Just for the Rich and Famous

But you don’t have to be rich and famous to have things your way. There is huge scope for your funeral to be tailored to your personal wishes and for it to be an uplifting tribute to the wonderful life you led. A chance for your close friends and family to recall and celebrate the good times you shared with them.

The key, of course, is in taking the time to reflect on what you want, then recording the details and entrusting someone with carrying out your wishes. How else is anyone going to know that you want to be buried in your United football strip; that you want your ashes sprinkled on the 18th green at St Andrews; or that Sid Vicious’ rendition of “My Way” holds far more meaning for you than a whole raft of forgotten hymns, which the congregation won’t even know how to sing?

A Helping Hand Just When You Need It

And formulating the plan couldn’t be easier.

In this enlightened digital age you can set up a free account at Funerals To Die For and record in detail how you want your funeral to be conducted. You can detail the existence and location of important accounts and documents that will be needed by the family after you have gone, as well as writing and recording final farewell messages to loved ones – all those things you meant to say but never quite got around to. There’s even a free on-line template to help guide you through writing your Will if, like the vast majority of people, you still haven’t got around to writing one.

When setting up an account you can nominate up to 6 close trusted friends. After your passing they will be empowered to access the private information in your account, so that they can carry out your final wishes, help your family to locate the documents and information they will need and download your personal farewell messages.
There really couldn’t be a better way to bow out in style.

www.funerals-to-die-for.co.uk