The Lewisburg Cemetery stands between the lower campus and the western part of town, the stone monuments all that remain of the hundreds and hundreds of souls that once occupied the bones buried beneath the dirt. While the area could be considered a palace of the dead, and in existence in reverence of their memory, I propose that it could still have some great use among those of us who still draw breath. 

Whether as a place of contemplation for the rigors of the day and the pains of life or as a muse for the creation of greatness, such places have a profound effect on the human soul. The ancient ambiance and the gentle tranquility, only interrupted by the irreverent efforts of those who care not for such places, instill a sense of calm that isn’t found anywhere else in this college. While it can feel haunting, I prefer to view such things with a sense of curiosity and respect. After all, if these souls can still feel us in their presence, who is to say that they are unfriendly? Perhaps they could be as curious of us as we are of them, with our countless movies of ghosts and afterlives and the supernatural. If one had only knowledge of our film, they would think such creatures to be common and everyday in their occurrence, after all.

As someone not entirely religious, but of a more spiritual disposition (depending upon my mental state and love for the world at any particular time), I simply find comfort in the ancientness of the place. The knowledge that those far before me and long after me may see those same tombstones of those same people, who each lived a life possibly even fuller than mine. To imagine every one of those stones as a human being, who lived in a time that we can scarcely imagine actually living in beyond those portrayals in film and recreations is humbling beyond measure. Silent contemplation and a gentle love for such places is the way to make peace. Peace with the world as it is. Peace with the world that was. And peace with the world we will create.

Come and visit more often, enjoy being able to experience a place so holy and magnificent. As the briskness of the place covers your skin with the prickly cold, feel the warmth within countless lives lived and ended in the same ground that you now contemplate upon and take a moment of the day to breathe. Too often, we forget to do so.