Coming together

Sadly, over the weekend we attended the service for wife of a friend, who left behind her husband, daughter, and son.  The somber, religious service is what our society expects at such times.  But it was neither the service, the graveside internment, nor the inconsolable sadness for the remaining family that motivates this posting.  The coming together of so many people was inspirational.

The service was conducted in a chapel at a local cemetery.  We arrived approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start, offered a hug and condolences to the grieving husband, our friend, and took our seats.  At that point, there were numerous seats remaining.  Candidly I wondered to myself if they would all be filled when the services began.  I needed have wondered.  By the end of the service, there literally standing room only, with folks lined up along the walls and at the the entry.  My buddy and I were standing, having offered our seats to ladies who had been standing.  Far more people arrived than the facility could accommodate.

These people, from multiple faiths and numerous generations had come together to pay their respects, offer their condolences in person, grieve, and provide moral support to the family.

Again, they came together.  Each gave of the one thing we can not create more of in our lives.  We can get a second job to earn more money, we can work hard to make more friends, we can engage in more activities that provide a smile.  But we can not create more time in the day.  None of those gathered in the chapel that afternoon woke that morning and declared there would be 28 hours that Sunday, with four of them set aside for the service.  Rather, they came together, willingly giving of their time.

In another example, friends of the family opened their home for a gathering after the service and internment.  Once more, people came together.  This time in a more personal forum.  I say more personal, because during the service and graveside internment there was a degree of anonymity created by the solemnity and sadness of the moment.  One is not expected to chat with the others in attendance.  However, at the gathering, names are exchanged with individuals most had not met previously.  Small talk ensued, with reference to the deceased and family, but also with some effort to establish another connection, one not associated with the sadness.

Again, individuals came together for a common purpose, even though from widely disparate sectors of society.  This common purpose transcended their differences.  The grief of the family was unifying.

From this sad event, I can't help but wonder why we can't come together more often, in pursuit of common objectives and goals?