Thought questions are intended to inspire introspection, discussion, and debate, less to discover a right answer and more to test an idea’s durability from differing angles. The goal is to provoke thought and refine articulation.
“Thought Questions” are well suited for teachers, educators, youth groups, socials, group discussions, family gatherings, personal improvement, and more.
“How morbid!” some exclaimed, when this question was posed to a class of high schoolers. Which I took to be their way of saying, “This is not the sort of question we’re ready to explore at this stage of our lives.”
Some struggled with the answer, some were smart enough to say something like, “beloved wife, mother, daughter.” Maybe not overly original, but a good answer nonetheless. Anything funny, even slightly irreverent, would’ve worked, if only because it’s difficult to be picky about something that’s technically correct and elicits a laugh.
Of course, the real aim of the question wasn’t for high schoolers to determine the exact wording of their epitaph as teenagers, but to get them thinking about what the epitaph portrays. Be it common, unusual, or even humorous, a epitaph is meant to encompass the entirety of a person in just a line, maybe two or three. If you’ve ever asked an author for a blurb of his book, you know how challenging that can be.
To say, compacting someone’s life into just a few words can be challenging for a variety of reasons, good and not as good, so the goal is to capture the most important, the most unique, the most identifiable aspects.
Really, the question isn’t so much about the exact wording of the epitaph but the defining sentiment of how you’d like to be described, not just after, but now. The beauty is that you can write your own epitaph by the way you live now.
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.