Just up the road from where I live is Auckland City's largest cemetery, which has a wide range of plots that cover most of the city's history. Closest to my location is the area set aside for those from the Pacifica Islands (Oceania). I am always struck by how the contrast between the traditional European plots and those of the Pacific people - we could learn much from them.
First what the traditional European cemetery area looks like. Obviously, overgrown and untended. In part, that is the design of the times with each plot often having its own fence, but they tend to show our habit of interring and forgetting and, with limited resources, the plots deteriorate over time and now look rather desolate and abandoned.
In contrast the Pacifica section is alive with colour and is immaculately tended - in part because of a better design, but I often see the families of the deceased attending the graves and keeping them immaculate, something I have never observed in other parts apart from the military gravesite.
At Christmas time in particular, they are festooned with Christmas decorations and one sees the chairs that are often used by families who visit them and keep them company throughout the festive and other holidays. Pacifica families do not say goodbye to their relatives and move on, they remain an integral and engaged part of the extended family, or whanau as the Māori call it.
We could perhaps learn from these loving people...
