I went to a funeral the other day. In person.

As I stood there, listening to the Rabbi, I gazed around at the other headstones.

All these lives lived and completed. I knew nothing of these people except they existed at some point.

Well, that’s not true, I knew that they were “beloved mother” or something like that.

We all live our lives, agonizing over decisions small, big, and everything in between.

We think what we do has consequence-and it does.

And yet, when the sum total of our lives is written on a gravestone, it comes down to a few words or phrases that, for the most part, are generic.

Sure, they are heartfelt by the inscribers. I don’t even care if they are true or not. It’s just remarkable to think that everything we do, every day, eventually comes down to 10-15 words.

Of course, there are those who decide to truly leave a mark on the world, as this guy did on the back.

credit: J. Licht Photography

(Personally, I’m thinking about a dynamic digital grave marker where people can pay to post messages in real-time, for a small fee of course, and payable in crypto.)