Sunday, 27 February 2022
Each new year people feel compelled to make resolutions they hope will improve their lives and wellbeing. They usually take form of measurable goals, such as losing a certain amount of weight, taking up a new hobby, or quitting a long-held vice. It’s much harder to make a resolution to talk more openly about a difficult topic.
Talking about death can help us both practically and emotionally. While years of the subject being taboo has made it difficult to discuss, there are a few ways you can ease into the conversation with friends and loved ones. The Australian Funeral Directors Association (AFDA) is inspiring people to think about the highlights of their own life story, as well as leave a record of all the important information that could help family members at a difficult time.
The associations behind the Your Goodbye campaign, are supporting Australians to start a conversation about their funeral wishes and make a note of details that could be really helpful for the people that mean most to you, to know.
We, at Australian Heritage Funerals, want you to be comfortable when discussing funeral pre-preplanning. Our experienced and empathetic funeral advisors can talk you through the pre-planning process, to help you plan a farewell that truly captures your personality.
Our prepaid funeral options are designed to ease the burden of pre-arranged funerals, both for you in the present and your family in the future.
Contact us online or by phone, or visit 314 James St, Harristown, to learn more about funeral preplanning with compassion.
Good to know
Your Goodbye features two documents that you can download and fill in. The first is about the ‘nuts and bolts’ of your life and the funeral arrangements you’d prefer.
Ranging from things you might assume family would already know, to topics that aren’t always easy to think about, the idea behind Your Goodbye is to help people cope more easily when losing a loved one.
From deciding on a funeral that’s fitting, to dealing with the many official channels that need to be notified after someone’s death, it’s a way of reassuring folk and providing them with the information they need to make things a little less overwhelming.
Details you can include range from your date and place of birth, to where people can find your will and details about your finances. Things you can also think about include the kind of funeral you’d prefer, whether burial or cremation, a celebration of life or a private ceremony.
This kind of funeral wishes list could be reassuring and helpful to those close to you.
Your Story
The second part of the AFDA’s Your Goodbye campaign is the Your Story journal, which you can also download. This has lots of prompts to help you record the information that could be part of your eulogy, from memories of your schooldays to your proudest moments and little-known facts about your life that even close family members may be surprised to learn about.
It’s a chance to share with people how you’d like to be remembered and could be a great way to start a conversation with your nearest and dearest about the things in life that matter most.
Funeral wishes are just that – wishes. Unlike instructions in a will, they are not legally binding, or may not all be possible for a loved one to fulfill. But a dying wish list could reassure your loves ones that, yes, it was exactly what you would have wanted.
Talking Points: 10 Your Goodbye Conversation Starters
- How I met my wife/husband/partner
- My proudest moment
- Cremation, burial, green funeral?
- Your favourite funeral poem
- Letting people know if you’re on the Australian organ donor register
- Your favourite flowers, or charities to donate to in lieu of flowers
- What I’d like to be wearing for my funeral
- My fondest memories
