A Goodbye Is Never Painful ...

I was helping my client, Dr Chin, to make this video clip for her uncle's farewell eulogy. A touching song specially dedicated to her nephew who had lost his father. I was downloading this famous Elvis Presley number from YouTube and converting the song to a mp3 file ... concentrating my work in the middle of the night trying to complete the task so that they could broadcast it over the LCD screen in the memorial hall the next morning.

As I was listening to the song while working on the video, it really touched my heart and tears were streaming down my face ...

"A goodbye is never painful, unless you are not going to say hello again" ~ the saying goes.  It was in every normal situation of a funeral. People cry a river bidding farewell to their loved one.

But this song threw me off balance. It was from a dead father saying goodbye to his beloved son. I couldn't imagine what will happen tomorrow? How could the son bear to listen to the lyrics?

In my job as a Funeral Director, many came to me and said, Jenny, how do you function in your job? How could you stand to see families dealing with death and separation all the time? This must be a calling, aren't you?

Well, to be very honest, I do not view serving as a Funeral Director in Nirvana is a 'JOB'.  In true spirit, I "enjoyed" doing what I am doing, from the moment my client called for my service, I vowed to be with them all the way thru their time of needs, holding them together through out their bereavement.  There is an inner voice telling me to understand every situation and give them strong support in every possible way.

I don't see my work as a job, I don't do it only for the remuneration, and do not look at the clock frequently while presenting my proposals.  I do not have large goals of advancement, in achieving high targets and prestige in titles.  However, I find my work intrinsically fulfilling, by helping my clients when they are in dire needs, thus contributing to the greater emotional comfort while overcoming their grief from the loss of a loved one.

Perhaps it is true that people say, "Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny."

For the hardships I have been thru in my life, I now treasure the feelings of fulfillment from helping people in need. Though many a time, I cry along with them....