Post 5 | Cemetery

At first when visiting the cemetery I felt a mix of emotion. It was difficult to know how to feel, because in a society like ours the fact of death is avoided so often. After maybe five to ten minutes of strolling the grounds it dawned on me; we we’re observing the grief experienced by others. Holding the book “A Grief Observed” by C.S. Lewis in my hands at the point of this epiphany, made the experience that much more powerful. Our visit to the cemetery was not to study a simply piece of land with rock embedded throughout it, yet was significant for the purpose of confronting a very real part of life that it often ignored. Looking at the dates (1888 – 1945) hit me extremely hard. I couldn’t help but think, these people once existed and now are simply a memory. How could it be that I rarely consider this same fate that I am bound to? Once entering into this conflict with myself I realized I was starting to feel what I believe were many of the same emotions C.S. Lewis felt when journaling “A Grief Observed.” C.S. Lewis was at the point where death no longer was simply a word, but an experience he had to bear as result of the death of his wife. Although visiting the cemetery was only a hint of the emotions C.S. Lewis may have been feeling, with that experience I can now read “A Grief Observed” with more respect for the fate we are all subject to; death. Experiences such as our last field trip to the cemetery are necessary. Reality cannot be avoided and shouldn’t be. Finally I would like to say that I have a new appreciation for life. Life can be easily taken for granted. It is my goal now to live everyday as if it is my last one.