The FINAL Departure

     Grief, how can we deal with it?

Talking about death or mourning may not be a simple task, but definitely it is a topic we should talk about much more often than we usually do. And it's quite amazing that the more we decided to study, read or talk about it, the simpler it become. I confess it has been simpler than I expect. But for sure, "death" is a complex issue and trying to approach it in 50 minutes is, at least, bold! But it's exactly what happened. In the latest "Halloween", we (the high school students - 3ºE and myself), we had a lecture on "Death and How to Deal with it." It was very rewarding! As the author Richard Bach said once: "We teach best what we most need to learn!" - and in this case, it wasn't different. The school is very important in our lives, but sometimes it fails to teach topics more connected to our life and experiences we are going through, no matter what. Nobody knows for sure how to deal with death or any other life matter, but the school would do a lot if it just opens a space to talk about all this topics. Being among friends and with teacher conducting the discussion, it can be a very interesting and supportive experience

And we know that learning is a continuous process, it never stops. So, to continue our studies, I'd like to recommend this movie called Departures (translated to Portuguese as "A Partida"). It is a 2008 Japanese film directed by Yōjirō Takita which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2009. 

Departures - The gift of last memories

The Departure is the story of a young man who was a cellist and after losing his job in the orchestra, he returns to his hometown and starts working as "Nokanshi", a sort of mortician in charge of preparing the body of dead people, put it in the coffin and send the deceased to the other world. He works with traditional funeral rites and acts as a gatekeeper between life and death. Unfortunately, due to a lot of prejudice, his work is despised by his wife and people around him. But it is through death that he begins to understand the true meaning of life. It's a very poetic movie, without being melodramatic. You can watch this movie here. Don't miss it! Ah, and the sound tracking is also really very beautiful!

Post Question: Have you ever had the opportunity of talking about death in your school? Funeral rites are different in each society. If you could change, add or delete some acts we do in our funeral rite, what would you like to modify? Have you gone to the Consolação cemetery excursion with the school? If YES, how did you like it? If NO, would you like to go?

Tip: Read also the post written last November and watch the video with Professor Maria Helena Pereira Franco. She gives us information about the clinic at PUC which provides services to the community in caring for people are grieving. Just click here.