And as long as we live, we will continue to be. That's what life, death, and memory are all about. Baby Boomers may have begun to turn fifty, recognizing that they will no longer be eternally young, and though they may recognize that they'll go kicking and screaming, in the end, they will go down the road of aging like everyone else. No one will live forever. No generation will exist for all time.
Death is as much a natural part of the cycle as birth and living.
Sure it's sad when we have a loss, when we have to say good-bye, but it's not necessarily tragic, especially when the relationships have had a significant amount of time to evolve, to develop. But as long as there is somebody alive who is part of a relationship, then the deceased continues to exist in some way through, and with, the person alive because of memory. I remember my loved ones all the time. Why have any days of commemoration, except for the fact it's an important way that human beings mark significant events and time and passages, like treating yourself differently on your birthday and having everyone around you treat you differently as well. When you lit your yahrzeit candle, hopefully you caught a picture of someone that is no longer here.