Remembering those who came before us
How tradition and family fits into how we practice Pantheism
Coco is on my shortlist for “most underrated Disney film”1. It tells the story of a boy named Miguel, who dreams of being a musician. The movie takes place during his family’s Day of the Dead celebration. Miguel ends up on a mystical journey through the land of the dead, while trying to untangle his family’s past. Although I’d heard of the Day of the Dead before, I knew very little about it, or the culture surrounding it.
We saw this movie a year before we’d heard of Pantheism, but we were already starting to think about what was missing for us with our faith. Something about how his family honored and revered those who came before them stuck with me.
One of the best parts of the movie comes towards the end, when Miguel sings to his great grandmother a song that was written by her father for her as a child. It gets me every time I watch this (Sorry for the singalong lyrics, couldn’t find another version).
A recurring theme in Coco is the idea that as long as we are remembered, in some way, we are still alive. Our memory lives on. It reminds me of an expression that goes like this: You die twice, once when you take your last breath, and again when someone says your name for the final time2.
Honoring our ancestors in this way is something that has been embraced by cultures around the world for thousands of years. Samhain is a Gaelic, pagan holiday celebrated at the same time as the Day of the Dead. Both holidays traditionally see this time of year (Around Oct. 31) as a period when the separation between the worlds of the living and the dead disappears. Other cultures around the world remember and venerate ancestors in other ways, too.
A new tradition for us
As pantheists, we don’t believe in any kind of afterlife. So the supernatural basis for these holidays doesn’t mean much to us. But, it still feels important to our family to remember the lives of our relatives. In some small way, a part of them is still within us, and keeping their memory alive helps us recognize that connection we share.
For the past couple of years, we’ve done this by putting up ‘remembrance boards’ at the start of October. During our weekly reflections, we meditate around the photos, and share stories with our daughter about our relatives (one board is for my wife’s side, and one board is for my family).
Since we had this idea, it’s helped us both learn more from our parents about our families’ history. And one of the more unexpected things, at least for me, is when you reflect on the lives of people who are no longer here, you’re also reflecting on your own limited time.
Those people who are just pictures now, lived as complicated of lives as we do. Remembering them is a reminder to us to live the life we have as much as we can, and hope that one day we’ll be remembered in a similar way.
A close follow up has to be my childhood favorite, The Great Mouse Detective
Finding the origin of this quote was difficult. If you know, leave a comment!