I’m thinking and nothing has gelled yet.
So until that happy day, here are a few of your and my favourite posts in case you missed them.
Tag Archives: death
Stop. Take a breath.
Reply
*** Time for this post? Two minutes and that’s it!
My family and friends know that I can be pretty focused when I hone in on a project. That has certainly been true as I’ve been learning about dying. My motivation is to be able to help myself through the process when the time comes…and to share what I learn along the way.
The downside of such focus is that single-pointedness can arise. So I’ve been consciously tuning in to counterbalancing viewpoints. I heard this quote in a recent radio interview… Continue reading
Setting the tone when you’re seriously ill or dying…
-*** Time for this post? Reading…8 minutes. Viewing…9 minutes. Thinking about what you would do…as you wish.
After writing last week’s blog about being with the dying, it occurred to me that…
As such, we have responsibilities…
Being with a Person who is Dying
*** Time for this post? Reading…5 minutes. Viewing…an hour, but not necessarily all at once.
My life has not yet required me to be on hand when someone is dying. And I’m pretty sure that can’t continue. So I’ve been looking for good information about how to be with someone who’s near the end of life.
Visiting someone who’s dying…
I found an excellent article about deathbed visiting which offers very practical tips based onthe author’s challenging experience of managing the death of a family member at home. Continue reading
Quantity of life … or quality?
*** Time for this post? Reading…2 minutes. Viewing…19 minutes. Taking it in…as you wish.
BJ Miller, a hospice doctor, says, “At the end of our lives, what do we most wish for? For many, it’s simply comfort, respect, and love.”
Yet the statistics show that most of us in our over-medicalized Western culture do not die that way. And it’s easy to see why.
Doctors are trained to keep us alive, There are a lot of treatments they can offer before giving in and saying the dreaded sentence, “There’s nothing more we can do.”
Now, let’s be clear. The blame doesn’t lie solely on the shoulders of doctors. We, the people who are offered these treatments, may not yet have come to terms with the fact that we will surely die sooner or later. In this mindset, we aim for quantity of life and lose sight of the quality of life we may really be aching for.
When we are uneasy about our inevitable death, we grasp at any possibility that’s offered to us. Yet, as Stephen Jenkinson says, the “more-time” bargain we make to avoid the end of life has consequences we never imagined.
Quality of life as we near the end…
What is a Death Doula?
*** Time for this post? Reading…5 minutes. Viewing…8 + 57 + 13 minutes. Exploring the highlighted resources…ongoing.
A doula is a non-medical person who provides support and nurturing to a person in life transition. Birth doulas provide information and nurturing care before and during birth, and death doulas do the same in the days and months leading up to death.
Death doulas generally have a holistic view that encompasses the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of end-of-life experiences, working with the family as well as the individual.
Other terms used to describe this work include end-of-life doula, end-of-life coach, end-of-life guide, death midwife, soul midwife, transition guide, death coach, and doula to the dying. Practitioners may have completed a certification course for death doulas, and usually bring a rich background of other training and skills that help them guide people through the end-of-life experience.
Who is a death doula?
Footwear too cool to dispose of.
*** Time for this post? Reading…7 minutes. Thinking about why you keep what you do…optional.
I know people who feel they must purge their living and storage spaces before they die. Their intention is to make it easier for their family to wrap up their affairs. What a shame!
True, it might help the family dispatch the estate efficiently. But what will they miss out on?
My take on that…
I think there’s something to be gained when others go through what we leave behind. They may learn things about us that they didn’t know, remember long-forgotten events, and gain perspective on who we were.
The way I see it, this is part of our legacy—and we are shortchanging our survivors if we leave a stripped-down version of our life.
To be clear, I’m not advocating for leaving an unholy mess. Like Margareta Magnusson, I think I should take responsibility for what I keep. And part of what I want to keep is those things that illustrate my history. For example…
Footwear too cool to dispose of…
What does normal dying look like?
*** Time for this post? Reading…2 minutes. Viewing…4 minutes. Revisiting the video…as often as you need to.
I’ve never seen someone die. I probably will in the next while. I don’t know what to expect. So I’ve been looking into it and have found some reassuring information.
When is enough enough?
***Time for this post? Reading… 8 minutes. Viewing…12 minutes. Exploring what is deeply satisfying to you…as long as it takes.
It’s not easy to know when to call it quits, to speak up and change course when we’ve had enough. This bold action requires us to think deeply about what’s important, and to take a stand for it…even when those around us have a different opinion about what we should do.
We are not enculturated to live—or die—on our own terms.
How much is enough?
… “enough” is not a number—it’s what is deeply satisfying.
The above quote is from Conscious Spending, Conscious Life, my book about using our resources intentionally. It helps us all navigate the consumer culture without being consumed by it.
As I learn more about the way we die in the West, I keep seeing parallels between consumption of consumer goods and our engagement with healthcare services. In both cases, we can end up being used by the system rather than served by it. Continue reading
Alternate Death Traditions
*** Time for this post? Reading …1 minute. Viewing …19 minutes.
Enculturation is the process by which individuals learn their group’s culture—through experience, observation, and instruction. It is how traditions evolve.
We all become enculturated, that is, steeped in the way things are done in the society in which we live. It’s what we know, what we get used to, what we think is normal.
