The death of a loved one is one of the most heartbreaking moments of any person’s life. Funerals, cremations, and other end-of-life services honour a person’s memory and celebrate their life. Still, they can be stressful for family members and friends.
Funeral or cremation arrangements can be whirlwind affairs, leaving the surviving relative no time to mourn or accept their loss. For the surviving family members and friends, their life continues even after the death of their dear one. However, returning to the normal life routine might be difficult while grieving the loss.
An essential part of the grieving process that all family members and friends are advised to take after the cremation ends is memorialization. The purpose of this process is to preserve the memories of the individual or a part of the individual to honour and celebrate their life. There are various forms of memorialization, the most popular being planted as a tree in the memorial garden.
Memorialization is a wonderful way to honour and cherish the departed soul’s memories while giving yourself ample time to mourn and grieve. As a matter of fact, researchers believe that memorialization is a crucial part of the mourning process.
Understanding the Importance of Memorials
When a dear one passes away, making arrangements for the funeral ceremony in a short period can be emotionally overwhelming. Nowadays, many Australian families are opting for cremation and memorialization rather than a traditional burial.
Memorialization is not new, with films, literature, and modern media painting the picture where you scatter the ashes in the wind or the ocean. But the reality is different than this.
Most people opt for a more permanent memorial rather than scattering the ashes in the wind. This memorial would be a place for them to visit, gather, remember the departed soul, and grieve. Today, memorial gardens are a commonly chosen place to plant memorial trees in honour of the departed.
While parks and bushlands are beautiful places to install a memorial, these areas can be redeveloped at any point in time, giving way to a residential estate or a shopping mall. Memorial gardens are, however, conserved areas of land with protection against logging or real estate redevelopment.
Therefore, the memorial trees planted inside these gardens will continue to grow and flourish for the years to come.
Memorial gardens are specially established to conserve and protect memorial trees as they represent the rebirth of your loved one. These trees also preserve a part of their energy through the ashes mixed in the soil.
How Can Memorial Gardens Help Families Grieve Their Loss?
A Place to Visit and Mourn
Most families chose to mix treated ashes into the soil to grow memorial trees planted in memorial gardens. The area around the memorial tree will be cordoned off so that family members can come and visit it whenever they like. If they wish, the family and friends can also choose customized plaques with the memorial tree.
Memorial gardens are beautiful tranquil places where you can come and have moments of peace with the memorial tree. The tree is a tangible reminder of the departed soul and helps their loved ones accept the loss and move forward.
A Tangible Reminder of the Departed Soul
Infusing organically treated human ash with the soil transfers some part of the life energy that the departed person carried in life. So, the tree that grows on that soil represents the soul’s rebirth.
This theory helps survivors navigate the grieving process and move forward. To heal from the loss, the family and friends of the departed person will need to grieve – it is the natural order of life.
While urns, pictures, and letters are sentimental reminders, these are not tangible assets containing a part of the departed person. A memorial tree symbolizes rebirth and includes some part of the departed that we can see grow and flourish for years.
For many people, the mere knowledge that a memorial tree is out there in the world containing a part of their loved one is a comfortable thought and helps them get closure.
In Conclusion
If you like infusing the ashes back to earth to grow a memorial tree, start your research and discuss it with your family. While pre-planning a memorialization is simple, you must find the right memorial garden to plant the tree.
Start with a local search, as it would be convenient for you to visit the tree as and when you like. Adopting this innovative memorialization process will help you move on and honour and celebrate the departed’s life.