Thursday’s Inspiration: SOUL

I explore cemeteries and believe it or not, what I am looking for are stories.

Sometimes I find those stories in a name, or in the artwork , so below I’ve jotted down  a few thoughts about the gravestones I’ve seen in my past adventures:

I was wondering why I saw dogs on the headstones of  mostly children’s graves.

They really must have loved dogs in life, I thought. Or maybe it was the hope the child would have a companion standing over them.

It turns out I was almost right. The dog is there to protect the grave and to express a wish for companionship for their child.

Some adults have dogs on their gravestones too, but I find it interesting that people leave an image of a dog with their children.

It’s like they asked themselves: do I trust angels to watch over my child in their eternal sleep, or do I trust a dog?

Dogs seem to be the choice a lot of people have made.

A hand clutching lilies and the finger pointing upwards represent can represent  fidelity and resurrection ( it’s hard to tell what kind of lilies they are )  and the finger pointing upwards is showing that Sarah’s soul has gone to Heaven.

Is this a message to people strolling through the graveyard? Sarah isn’t here, her loved ones are saying to us.

She  isn’t’ here. She went that way.

But did she? Or is she standing right next to you with a bunch of lilies clutched in her hand and is she looking up trying to decide if she really wants to leave?

She has all eternity to make up her mind.

This is the sarcophagus of Prince Thutmose’s Cat. The inscriptions serve the same purpose as the symbols on the grave markers above and like the hopes expressed in stone above, Prince Thutmose was asking that the soul of his cat be protected and guided to  ” The Field of Reeds “.

He carved symbols and instructions to how his cat’s soul should be cared for.

Good for the Prince- his priorities were in order and I’m sure he and his cat found each other in the end.

We leave stories behind us in so many ways. This way fascinates me to no end.

amm