Change is inevitable.  We change from the moment of conception onwards.  Even after death our body continues to change on its path to becomming ashes or dust.  Our spirit may keep changing after death too, various people and religions claim to “know” about this.  Even history changes, it gets rewritten from new viewpoints.  What was thought to be fact turns out to be perception of fact, and perception changes even if facts don’t.  Without change, nothing would happen, the world might be frozen in time, or turned to stone, or more likely we never would have existed here at all.

Some of us (I include myself for certain!) struggle more with changes than others.  Most changes include both positive and negative effects on us, and frequently we can’t even tell which is which for certain.  My Grandma often remarked that many of the changes in her life which she thought at the time were tragic turned out after time passed to be fortunate turning points.  (I know the reverse is true too, but my Grandma was too positive a person to mention that.)  We may try to cling to the past by clinging to things, objects or places we won’t part with.  We may try to deny a change by attempting to recreate the past or go back to it even when it is futile.  We want to control change, to allow or deny it, and we often don’t have the power.  Someimtes you can maintain things or restore things, but often you just can’t.  We get stuck, having difficulty accepting a change that we don’t like (negative) or don’t trust as real (positive).

Death is one of the hardest changes to deal with.  I don’t know much about my own death yet, but I know other peoples death can be hard for me to even process, let alone accept.  Most of you reading probably have trouble processing or accepting deaths of those close to you, its such an extreme example of an uncontrolable change.  Since this is a blog about change, I have titled it after a part of a traditional New Orlean Jazz Funeral that helps the participants deal with death and the change it brings.  Its when they “cut the body loose”.

When they cut the body loose, the funeral procession says their final goodbye to the physical body.  They cut it loose from the procession, and they cut loose from mourning the death in order to celebrate the life.  In days past the procession would march to the mournful dirge music all the way to the cemetary, cutting the body loose when it was buried or put in the tomb.  More recently since its a long march to the cemetary, this is done outside the funeral service after a few blocks or less of procession to the dirge music.  Sometimes it takes place in front of a location that was especially significant to the deceased.

At the time they cut the body loose, the music changes from funeral dirges to songs of celebration.  The pall bearers (if they are up to it) will swing the coffin up high over the head of the crowd several times, usually at least three times.  Speeding the ascent to heaven?  Giving the crown a last view?  Dancing with the coffin a final time to celebrate a life?  All of the those I think.  And then, while the coffin leaves in the hearse, the rest of the procession commences to dancing and celebrating, known as second lining, complete with the twirling and raising of umbrellas and the waving of handkerchiefs.  Those left to live are returning to life which goes on, and celebrating the life of the  deceased.  The procession will second line through the streets a while, perhaps leading to a reception with food and beverages, perhaps back to their cars first.

This blog is largely my attempt to cut a few bodies loose, to process life changes of all kinds (not just deaths) by thinking about changes, journaling about changes, maybe wishing for changes out loud and wishing some things wouldn’t change out loud.  Of course, the whole world can read this if they want to, so at some point there will be thoughts best left unshared here, at least while I am employed, or in relationship with people that might disagree, or still alive.

Never the less, I will share what I can here and invite the readers (if any) to comment as they wish to.  I hope it will help someone, myself or a reader, to evolve and and processs their own changes and to celebrate life itself.

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