Say goodbye conscious
Part of a conscious lifestyle is also saying goodbye to life in a conscious way. In the Nederlandse Uitvaartmuseum (Dutch Funeral museum) Tot Zover (So far) on the Nieuwe Ooster cemetery in Amsterdam, a confrontational, but meaningful and informative exhibition is dedicated to this. An unusual theme that here is made a little closer and more concrete.
Farewell and culture
Maybe not the first museum on your mind if you want to absorb some culture. Still, this is a place where you gain a powerful experience. At least, that’s what I experienced when I visited the museum. In the museum is exhibited an overview of various funeral rituals and customs in different cultures that find place in the Netherlands. For example, you get a picture of Creole, Jewish, Chinese and Islamic funeral rituals. Various concepts and ideas about the life and the soul after death play a role. In addition, the story of someone who has designed his own funeral when he knew that he was terminally ill and did not have long to live anymore. Very impressive.
You get a good picture of all kinds of aspects that play a role and the various ‘trends’ in this area. There is also attention for customs and traditions over time. All kinds of objects are there to see; from post-mortem photos to material for embalming and dead masks ‘. There are also temporary exhibitions. For example, during my visit there were very touching photos of parents with a deceased child, sometimes the only complete family photo that one has.
More attention for saying goodbye
The museum received for the first time subsidy from the Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunsten (Fund for the arts) and they will invest on communication, knowledge dissemination and education. That means the consciously attention to how you life your live, how to say goodbye to it or a farewell to someone else. It deserves this full attention and I think that is a good sign. The farewell to life must not be tucked away.
Next to the museum you can also walk a route with an audio guide and get information about the beautifully landscaped cemetery. In short, well worth a visit!
Museum Tot Zover click here for more information.
Kruislaan 124, 1097 GO Amsterdam