Onward and Upward

It’s a classic bit of Victorian cemetery symbolism: a statue of a lovely woman, presumably an angel, pointing a finger upward. The angel is leading the deceased toward the afterlife, or perhaps reassuring family and friends that their lost loved ones have successfully completed the heavenly journey. 

This is a beautiful idea that has brought solace to countless cemetery visitors since these statues began to appear atop gravestones. But maybe these angels have a more practical message for those of us muddling through one of the periodic “stuck” periods we all occasionally endure. 

Maybe the angel is gently telling us: get your ass in gear. 

The angel could be saying, “You’ve have felt stuck for a while, and you’ve had good reason for feeling that way, but it’s time to face the fear and the entropy. It’s time to unstick yourself.”

I know that fully unsticking oneself from a phase of life, and transitioning to a new one, isn’t as easy as simply having a cemetery angel tell you to get your act together. But, if you happen to find yourself in a cemetery and you feel like a stone angel is suggesting that you ought to get your act together and move onward and upward — and most importantly, forward — maybe you should listen to the angel.

~217~