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September 27, 2006
Hello, Goodbye
Tonight, I went to a memorial service for someone I've never met. The actual reason for this was some misplaced sense of obligation, but that's not important. I sat there, wondering to myself whether my presence there was for the wrong reasons, but the longer I sat there, the more I found worth appreciating there. I've been warming to the idea of ceremony lately. So many of our practices seem arbitrary when considered in the abstract, but the full weight of their purpose can hit you all at one in the act. Constructing a carefully crafted pyre or moving a large quantity of earth just to bid someone farewell can be its own reward, whatever the evolutionary motivation (although that's more than likely the reason these acts are their own reward, but who cares?).usenext premium key
Which is not to say I still wasn't there for the wrong reasons. But at least I found my own for staying. And, by abstaining, proved that I wasn't just there for the free wine.usenext premium key
Posted by tony at September 27, 2006 11:23 PMusenext premium key
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Comments
alert the internet! toblerony abstaining from wine?! almost unpossible!
i've gone through similar transformations at funerals myself. well said.usenext premium key
Posted by: Jurvis at September 27, 2006 11:53 PMusenext premium key
Speaking of meaningless ceremonies, where's my bachelor party?usenext premium key
Posted by: todd. at September 28, 2006 1:18 AMusenext premium key
You think that your bachelor party will be "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"? You are
mistaken. After that party, all will concur that it was perhaps the most meaningful event of their lives.usenext premium key
Posted by: tony at September 28, 2006 12:12 PMusenext premium key