Finding Peace and Hope...in Graveyards...

Cemetery of the Mantokuji Soto Zen Temple
Maui, Hawaii - 2010
Contemplating life (and death) at this brilliant intersection of land and sea and sky
can be a mind expanding, heart warming experience.

Graveyards and cemeteries have a powerful sense of place. If I come across one when I’m travelling, I almost always try to stop. Though they exist to commemorate death, more often than not, they impart to me a feeling of hope. I leave them with a satisfying sense of contentment and a renewed belief in the beauty of life.

Hierapolis, Turkey - 2012
Many hours can be spent wandering among the tombs Hierapolis (founded 2nd century BCE),
located adjacent to the travertine terraces of Pamukkale.

The tradition of burying loved ones is not part of my cultural heritage. Nepalese cremate their dead along the banks of rivers that spring from the Himalayas. Ashes mingle with the waters to become one with the mighty Ganga as it flows into the sea. All I know of graveyards has been gleaned through books and movies. As I gaze upon rows and rows of grave markers, I have no emotional connection to those whose physical bodies have found a final resting place in the earth before me. However, my appreciation of cemeteries exists and endures despite this lack.

Cemetery of St. Philip's Church in the Highlands
Garrison, NY - 2012

Graveyards and cemeteries appeal to my desire for order - not just spatial order, but cultural order, embodied by tradition. I can appreciate the the artistry of stone masons working with natural materials that telegraph the passage of time. 

Origo Family Cemetery at the Villa Foce
Tuscany, Italy - 2012

Origo Family Cemetery at the Villa Foce
Tuscany, Italy - 2012
Located on the grounds of Villa Foce, those who worked for the Origo family through the years
have also found a final resting place here.

I can also appreciate the way in which a place of private refuge can be carved out in some of the busiest and public of places. One can step out of the chaos of Istanbul, or the hustle and bustle of Boston and into a pocket park that houses history and transmits tranquility.

Cemetery at the Suleymaniye Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey - 2012

If every “picture tells a story” then surely every tombstone holds the key to multiple stories.  As a silent repository for the most basic facts of a person’s life – a name and two dates – the task of filling in the gaps belongs to the observer. If our minds are willing, the dates and the names, combined with the size, location and ornateness of the markers, all give us the context from which we might construct a possible life. What I find foremost in my mind is the weight of history, a consideration of hardships and dreams....a fervent hope for a life well lived.

Old Granary Burying Ground
Boston, MA - 2005
One of the oldest tombstones I've seen in the United States (1697/8), this one is located right in the city and has survived the elements quite well.  I assume that the skeletons refer to the temporary nature of life

A graveyard, as a physical place, must be the antithesis of the virtual place – the Internet - in which we spend greater and greater chunks of our time. Where the Internet spews out information, ad infinitum, graveyards withhold it. The Internet is about “real time” connections. Graveyards are about the past and letting go of our connections.

St. Philip's Church in the Highlands
Garrison, NY - 2012

One of the benefits of travelling is that it removes us from our daily routines and gives us the opportunity for a slightly different perspective on life. Graveyards seem to have the power to do this as well, and perhaps it is for this reason that I would gladly spend a morning or afternoon amid the grave markers, soaking in the solitude, just thinking...reading...sketching...dreaming….

Cemetery of the Mantokuji Soto Zen Temple
Maui, Hawaii - 2010