I am finding this family history site difficult for non obvious reasons, dealing with the dead. I find that the continual listing of the dead draining, depressing, sucking up all the dopamine and serotonin that I produce. So negative it would kill a battery at 100 paces. I am most likely in the last quarter of life so death, my own upcoming death is something that I need to rap my mind around, or deal with in some way. As Marcus Aurelius sort of put it: soon we will forget and soon after that, we will be forgotten. Memory lasts about as long as those we have know well. Stories perhaps another generation or two. Life is short, and we must learn to deal with our impending death.
In modern life, we are mostly sheltered from direct exposure to the dead and dying. Mortician's and funeral directors take care of most issues. Death denying religions (eternal life, Christians, Moors) protect us from the finality if we subscribe. Those without that subscription may have alternately subscribe to a reincarnation, or chose to deal with reality, the soul, spirit, directing mind or what ever you name it, the thought pattern portion of us, demises along with the physical portion. When the plug is pulled, it is all over.
Now some of us choose the Stoic approach, going along with nature, without regard for potential address change, and accept the end is final to the realm of the living. We are returned to where we came from, or not. Children come to visit the living, and seniors and others are returned or not. It is beyond our knowledge. We can choose to be concerned about living well, in accordance with nature, prudently, justly, moderately, frugally. Unlike the Buddhist that say, reincarnation, rebirth, relocation; it is your choice to go up or down, the Stoic have a real concept, death is final, so anything you want passed along, you had bloody well pass it while you are alive. The typical legacy, even then, was your name chiselled into stone.
This blog may take a turn toward pictures and stories to spare my dopamine and serotonin or not, or just go stale, I do not know.
The artefacts must also go somewhere afterwards, so if you want them, speak up in the comments, otherwise Nicole may just put them in the dump.
Be well, eat real food, breath deeply, smile easily, and enjoy what life has to offer. Daoish. ft
If you are interested, I am the last to carry the Meilicke name under the lineage of Edward, second son of Christina R. and Altman.
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