Ashes to ashes.

Earth to earth. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.

I’ve always had a fascination for these words. Like a bizarre kind of love for this piece of text.

Just now, while drying myself after a shower, my towel got stuck on my necklace. My very special necklace with my dad’s ashes in it.
And so come back this fascination for these words. But now I finally understand it. Just by having a memory popping up so clearly now.

A week after my dad’s cremation, we were invited back in the crematorium to gather his ashes. A strange moment. Up until that very moment, my dad had been an actual person made of flesh and bones. Even of he was already cremated. In my mind, he was still a human being with an actual body.

So here we are. Sitting at this table in a special office. Drinking coffee, and waiting for the woman we had the appointment with, to come meet us there.
We, my little sis and I, are nervous. It’s so unreal. Being in this office, surrounded by glass cabinets that showcase urns that you can buy. As if your at a jeweller looking at the more exclusive jewelry. But we’re looking at urns….

And then the woman comes in. She tries to do her best to make us feel at ease. She truly feels sorry for us, I can see it. It’s the way she talks to us. The exact way that many others have been talking to us the past weeks. All looking at us, as if we’re just small kids who lost their dad. As if we’re now just “lost” without a parent to look after us. After a short talk, she hands over a plastic urn. We have not decided yet to do with the ashes, but we all know an urn isn’t what we want. So then there’s just a temporary black plastic can.

It’s a huge thing. And it’s pretty heavy too. I didn’t expect this. In fact, I didn’t know what to expect at all. But here it is. An urn. With ashes in it. Lots of ashes. From our dad. It’s such a crazy thought that this, these ashes, is our dad. Was our dad…

Because now I understand it. I can feel it. Even more clear now that his body is gone.

It’s just ashes. Dust, if you will…

Our body’s are just the vessel. A vessel that carries a soul, a person with character traits, and a will to live. And without all of that, it’s empty. There’s nothing more then just flesh and bones, or ashes after a cremation. Ready to be returned to it’s home.

It’s up us to decide what we do with our body, before our time has come to return it to the earth. Do you just sit it out? Waiting for the end the come? Or are you going ALL IN? Knowing there’s only this one life you have NOW?

So yes…

Earth to earth
Dust to dust
Ashes to ashes