Care of the Living

While attending to the dying is imperative, attending to the living is perhaps even more important. After the passing of a loved one, it is important to have a period of mourning, of grieving, and even of celebrating the loved one. This process allows us AND them to let go, so they can continue on their journey.

In many traditions, after the passing of a loved one, a photograph or article of theirs is placed into an ancestral altar. Here we can celebrate their memories and remember them in the way they’d like to be remembered. By placing them in the altar, we thank them for the lessons they taught us and set them free, setting ourselves free at the same time.

Various traditions allot different amounts of time for this process. Within the shamanic tradition, a half moon is allotted to the process of grieving. After this period, it is done. We know that what has belonged to the mother, the physical body, has returned to the earth, and what has belonged to the father and the heavens has returned to the heavens. The period of mourning in the days following the passing of a loved one lets us celebrate life without having death continue to stalk us.

 

 

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