As far back as I remember I never believed in any life after death. The concept of myself not exisiting was quite scary to me. Yet in the end I grew accustomed to the idea of death being nothing but "fade to black" sort of thing.

Because I do not believe in any afterlife, soul etc I do not see any importance in how my body will be handled after death. I told my parents to do the cheapest thing cause in the end it makes no difference to me.

I often feel that people who give the dead extravagant funerals seem to treat it as sort of 'making up' for all the wrongs that they have done. I don't quite remember when I started to feel this way but it was some tv interview and some woman was talking about her husbands burial her words were :"We've had some tough times, I made some mistakes that I never made up for. This is the least I can do.". I suppose whatever puts someone's mind at ease works. Yet I see no need for loved ones to throw away their money on my death, I won't be needing it.

"We've had some tough times, I made some mistakes that I never made up for. This is the least I can do."

This is why I pay my respects to the living, not the dead, and I make sure to never hold a grudge or keep an apology from someone for too long.

yes, death is a truly strange thing but as it is invitable i do not feel sadness when i think of my own death, although i do not cope very well with the loss of others. this thread got me thinking and i looked up the meaning of a funeral-
most simply sed that it is a ceremony held after the death of somebody at which the body is cremated or buried, and people hu knew the deceased come 2 pay their last respects.

but i hav a different definition-

a funeral is a ceremony which differs from culture to culture at which people hu knew the deceased celebrate that persons life.

that's y i also want people 2 hav a party wen i die- not a whole lot of people -but those that have loved me- a party 2 celebrate the fact that i was alive. i think that is really what a funeral shud b. where people share their fondd memories of the deceased and enjoy the company of everyone hu also knew and loved the dead.