Uncovering Buried Treasure

I LOVE walking through cemeteries! It’s not a morbid thing to do at all!

That’s because I don’t see dead people. I see stories. I see hopes, dreams, triumphs, and defeats. I see the story of love and fear, joy and heartbreak.

In essence, I see the whole human experience represented in all those headstones and monuments. I see life represented there, not death.

Yes, it’s a reminder of our mortality.

But, even more so, a cemetery is a reminder of how to live. Knowing we will one day die, how do we want to live the rest of our days, however many we may have?

So, as I wander through a cemetery, I wonder about the people there and what their lives were like. What did they do for a living? What joyful things did they experience? What heartbreaks did they have to work through? Where did they come from and what brought them here? What was their greatest accomplishment? What was their greatest defeat? What were their hopes and dreams? Did they make them happen or did their dreams get buried with them? Six feet under.

I’m often reminded of this quote by motivational speaker, Les Brown:

“The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.”

Makes you think, doesn’t it? At least, it does me. Especially when wandering through a cemetery.

Fall Fairview Cemetery Tour – Oct 2, 2024

And, speaking of wandering through cemeteries, if you love walking through cemeteries as much as I do, the Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room at the Floyd County Public Library is hosting another cemetery tour in Fairview Cemetery on Wed. Oct. 2 from 6pm-7pm. This tour will feature a unique story that happened in Fairview Cemetery in the late 1800’s and will include visiting two family plots and a family vault to tell the tale. You don’t want to miss it!