3 Tips for Talking With Your Loved Ones About Funeral Wishes
There’s no question about it — chatting to your loved ones about their funeral wishes can feel tricky. In our western culture, death is still a somewhat controversial topic and is generally avoided in discussion most of the time. This is only a result of our cultural conditioning, as many societies in the east openly embrace death and recognise it as an integral part of life. Without death, there simply cannot be life. There are many excellent reasons for us to be more willing to face this part of our existence, including the fact that it will help us arrange funeral services and memorials that completely honour the wishes of those that we love dearly, and ourselves. If you would like to have this conversation with your loved ones about funeral wishes, but don’t know how to go about it — we would like to help. Here are a few tips to get you started.
- Take the time to recognise all the benefits such a conversation will bring
It goes without saying that organising a funeral service, whether it be a burial or one of the many affordable cremation services in Melbourne, can become difficult if done once a loved one passes. To begin with, you may not even know if a loved one wants a traditional funeral, or if they require cremation urns for their ashes. One of the best things you could do would be to find out how they would love to be sent off, and honour it. Not to mention how much pressure is taken off of you during the grieving period. This is all still true when it comes to discussing your wishes for your own funeral with your family. - Do your research
Before having any conversation, take the time to educate yourself on what’s available. If this conversation is about your own funeral, then get clear on exactly what you want so that you are able to be present with whatever potential emotions come up for your family. This way you can also discuss particulars and make it a more informed conversation. - Take it slow
Begin by having a softer and more gentle conversation. Once the topic is brought up, your loved ones will adjust in time. Sometimes it’s much better to have more than one conversation and leave some time in between for processing.
There are many good reasons to talk to your loved ones about funeral wishes. You are doing the right thing by being more open about death and making it a less taboo topic. This conversation will only bring a lot of relief and reduce stress later on down the track. If you are looking for more information and are interested in a cremation service, we suggest heading over to www.fixedpricedcremations.com.au. The team at Fixed Price Cremations offer simple, affordable and respectful services to people in Australia.