The Five Questions People Wish They’d Asked a Loved One Before it Was Too Late

When Michael McQueen’s father died suddenly from a heart attack in 2004, the author discovered the true significance of written memories.

 

Heartbroken at losing his confidant, a then 22-year-old Michael was shattered at having never asked his father some of the most important questions in life.

 

However while sorting out his beloved father’s belongings in the days after his death, Michael found his 51-year-old dad Bill’s journal, filled with heart-wrenching and inspirational anecdotes to keep his memory alive.

 

Now the 33-year-old Wollongong man, who lives in Sydney, wants to inspire other parents to write down their memories, to ensure their stories and wisdom are passed on to the next generation.

When Michael McQueen (pictured) lost his father at the age of 22 he realized exactly how important a written memoir really is armed with his own past and a huge interest from numerous of his friend and acquaintances, Michael created Histography, an online tool aimed at giving people the initiative to recall their most personal experiences.

 

While researching the site, Michael jotted down the top five questions people wish they had asked their loved ones before they passed away.

The number one question was: What is you greatest regret?

‘I guess the idea being that there’s a lot of wisdom you can gain from just knowing what people wish they’d done differently in their lives, particularly older people,’ Michael McQueen told Daily Mail Australia.

The award-winning speaker went on to reveal that the second most desired question people want to ask would have been about their parents hopes and dreams as a child.

‘As kids your parents are always asking you that,’ Michael said.

‘What are your hopes? What are your dreams? What do you want to do with your life? But we very rarely stop and actually ask our parents that question.

Pictured here on a family holiday (from left to right: Michael’s dad Bill, his mum, his brother David, Michael, his brother Peter and his brother Geoff)

 

Michael and his brothers were all close to their father Bill, who was a teacher. Here they are pictured while out on a hike. (From left to right: Michael, David, Bill, and Geoff)

 

 

Michael said that the interesting thing would be asking them what changed in their life.

‘Did they change or did life change? Were there things they figured out that you could actually learn from? Were they a really different person when they were younger?,’ Michael said.

You Know You’re a Funeral Director When…

Connecting Directors went to their facebook page and asked 6,600 funeral directors to fill in the blank of this sentence: "You know you’re a funeral director when ___________."

Here were some of their favorite responses:

When you make plans and tell your friends “if no one dies I’ll be there”

You watch a tv show or a movie and there is a funeral scene and you know the name of the casket.

The first thing my six year old says to me, the second I walk in the door, every single day – “who died today?”

When you’re out somewhere in a crowd and you catch yourself thinking about how you would set someone’s features.

When the next of kin says that his 86 year old mom looks nothing like the 55 year old picture he gave the funeral home.

You see a picture of a friend, family member or even yourself and make a mental note that that photo would be great for an obit or photo board.

When a cop is helping you drag a dead guy across the front lawn through a path in the snow (that you had to shovel) in the wee hours of the morning.

This Is Probably The Most High-Tech Cemetery In the World

The Ruriden columbarium, operated by the Koukokuji Buddhist Temple in Tokyo, is as futuristic as the capital of Japan itself. Believe it or not, this is a cemetery.

The Ruriden is home to 2,046 small altars, with glass Buddha statues that correspond to drawers storing the ashes of the deceased. People can visit their beloved lost ones with the help of a smart card which grants access to the building and lights up their corresponding statue.

 

The Ruriden took two years to build and the ashes are stored for 33 years before being buried below the Ruriden. Currently 600 altars are in use—and another 300 are reserved.

 

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Photos: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
 

VIA. Gizmodo