The ceremony has beckoned us to this place. The lights have gone low everywhere but on the picture. The circumambulation is choreographed so that we have only a precious second at the altar. This heightens our attention. The gates are ajar.
All channels are open.
Our universe becomes the starving child. In a funeral or healing service, we have already invested a lot of energy focusing on the sick or deceased person before the ceremony even starts, by passing around his or her photograph. We are primed. What we need from this ceremony is focus, direction, a channel for our compassion. Someone has died.