the news of my sister's godmother passing on sets me thinking a little.

i don't exactly believe that in burning paper money, houses, and clothes etc will mean the deceased will so called 'lead a better life in another world'. to some extent, people are doing all these just so they will feel better that they have at least done their part for the deceased. its like 'the last thing' they can do, and to resolve/lessen any possible guilt for not doing certain things when the person was still alive. but what happens when family members of the deceased did nothing. and i mean really nothing. not even a photo of the deceased, not even a proper coffin, not even a proper wake. what does that reflect? they have all done their part, so they could well do without a proper funeral? financial constrain? they simply cant be bothered to do anything more? i would think that a proper burial should be done at the very least as a basic form of respect for the deceased.

im not exactly close to my sis's godmother because we probably only see her once a year during chinese new year. despite that, the news of her passing on still saddens me. for someone so distant like me, i felt the loss. and im really puzzled, how can her immediate family not feel a single thing? it makes me wonder.