A Blessing and a Eulogy

The word "bless" comes from a Greek word meaning "to speak well of" (or something close to that lol). This is actually where we get our word eulogy from. I found this to be a really funny coincidence, since I just posted a blog entry about legacies. If you're missing the connection here, eulogies are those great speeches that chosen people give at funerals, which describe just how amazing and special the particular deceased person was - when he/she was alive. Essentially the individual who gives the eulogy is describing the legacy of the person who passed away. Granted, these are usually pretty candy-coated; I mean, you never seem to hear someone bash on the dead at their funeral.

I found it interesting that the word for "bless" in Greek brought about those two particular words. When I think of blessings, I don't think of the dead. I think of the homeless or those who have been dealt a rough set of cards in life. I think of giving things, not necessarily kind words, though they too can also be a blessing.

What I pulled out of this was that the connection between these two words is something to think about. To me, there is absolutely no point in blessing someone after they are dead. None. Zilch. Nada. Yeah you can speak well of them or acknowledge their faults or funny idiosyncrasies, but they don't care... They're kind of gone... Yes, I am all for honoring the dead, remembering them and what they have done, but I say leave the blessing part for the living. Do we really have to see someone die before we can say something kind and complimentary about them?