When you read this clear your mind with everything except what you will read and what I will invite you to do. Don’ worry about your schedule, your business, your family, or your friends. Just focus on this and really open your mind…
In your mind’s eye, see yourself going to the funeral of a loved one. Picture yourself driving to the funeral parlor or chapel, parking the car, and getting out. As you walk inside the building, you notice flowers, the soft organ music. You see the faces of friends and family you pass along the way. You feel the shared sorrow of loosing, the joy of having known, that radiates form the hearts of the people there.
As you walk down to the front of the room and look inside the casket, you suddenly come face to face with yourself. This is your funeral, three years form today. All these people have come to honor you, to express feelings of love and appreciation for your life.
As you take a seat and wait for the services to begin, you look at the program at your hand. There are to be four speakers.
The first one from your family, immediate and also extended – children, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who have come from all over the country to attend.
The second speakers is one of your friends, someone who can give a sense of what you were as a person.
The third speaker is from your work or profession.
And the fourth is from your church or some community organization where you’ve been involved in service.
Now think deeply. what would you like each of these speakers to say about you and your life? What kind of husband, wife, father, or mother would you like their words to reflect? What kind of son or daughter or cousin? What kind of friend? What kind of associate?
What character would you like them to have seen in you? What contributions, what achievements would you want them to remember? Look carefully at the people around you. What difference would you like to have made in their lives?
Take few minutes to jot down your impressions. It will greatly increase your personal understanding.