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How to do your own epitaph
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You've seen ads that begin with the words: "Perhaps the one thing worse than dying is outliving your money." You know immediately when you see this that it's just another scare tactic to sell you something.
First of all, there is something even worse than outliving your money, and for most people it may be worse than death itself. Worse than outliving your money is outdying it!
Let's face it: dying while there is still money left is the ultimate sign of poor planning. Why would you deal yourself short? And who would know better than you how to dispose of all that extra wealth?
Likewise, why would you leave to others the burden of putting words on your gravestone when you are perfectly capable of doing it yourself?
Do you see where we are going here? The one thing worse than dying is totally beyond money. The one thing worse than dying is having no plan for an epitaph.
Bad news.
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VERY BAD NEWS because it means that someone else will write it for you. After you're gone, of course. Or it means -- heaven forbid -- that there will be NO epitaph under your name. Or, to contemplate the ultimate horror, someone could put words like "dearly missed" or "beloved cousin" on your gravestone. Someone else's words!
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The thing is -- there is no excuse!
You're alive NOW.
It's YOUR life and death.
YOU say something.
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Besides, it's YOUR stone -- YOU leave a mark on it.
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And you know what? Visitors will stream to your gravesite, celebrate your wisdom, and speak your name with joy. You couldn't give yourself a finer gift or leave your friends a higher blessing. In the words of Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart, "to keep a spirit alive in the world you need only repeat its name."
Take heed: make your grave a lasting destination and make your visitors allies in your quest for immortality, for they will read your words time after time.
A memorable epitaph is worth a thousand biographies. Plan ahead and act now, while you're still kicking. Your spirit will thank you.
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Your epitaph is your final soundbite. Don't let anyone impersonate you.
What you are is what you have been,
what you will be is what you do now.
--Buddha
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Now if you believe that some part of you survives, consider this: wise pharaohs and other enlightened rulers of antiquity arranged to have appropriate inscriptions on the walls of their burial monuments so they could refer to them for directions on their afterlife journey. Similarly, our epitaphs can serve as guides to remind us who we are and what we are about. |
Our spirits can always home in on our bones. If lost or confused, they look for signs. When they find their epitaphs, they read them and interpret their meaning.
It is critical, therefore, that the epitaph SAY SOMETHING TO THE DEPARTED SOUL, not just to those who are left behind. If it can say something to all, why so much the better.
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Of course you can write your own. Anybody can paint a wall. On the other hand, only an artist can paint your portrait. Your last words are too important to treat like graffiti. And they are certainly not a joke. If you are ready to pursue this path seriously, take a look at ...THE FORM...
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If you could visit your grave, what would you want to say to yourself?
There is nothing to wait for.
PLAN YOUR EPITAPH NOW!
And if, when all is said and done, you feel too removed from this need yourself, and if you're truly BRAVE, why not consider an epitaph as a gift to a loved one?
How many who were once celebrated by fame have now been lost in oblivion,
and how many who once celebrated the fame of others have long been dead!
--Marcus Aurelius
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More information:
headstone@hardiehouse.org
PLAN YOUR EPITAPH DAY happens twice a year.
Join millions of others in celebration and tell your friends
and your favorite media people about it.
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