Musings & Meanderings
Grief Gatherings
Roles of Death Doulas
Roles of Death Doulas
The next Grief Gatherings in Olympia will be Mondays, July 14th and August 11th. Join others to sit with, be with, listen to your own grief...and the grief of others. Click here for more information: https://deathdancer.org/grief-gathering-1
Roles of Death Doulas
Roles of Death Doulas
Roles of Death Doulas
What do Death Doulas actually do?
These are some of the roles or tasks:
- Provide emotional, physical, and spiritual support
- Help with end-of-life care planning
- Help with legacy projects
- Facilitate conversations about death
- Help families cope with death
When they help
- Before, during, and after death
- Weeks or months before someone dies, and even before they're sick
How they help
- Create space for the needs and wishes of the dying
- Help the dying live the time they have left with purpose and companionship
- Help the dying and their loved ones make the choices they want for their death experiences
This can look very different for each person or family.
Contact me for more information or to talk:
Zoe 360-432-1236 or
Deathwalkers
A woman named Zenith Virago started, long ago in Australia, Deathwalker Trainings. Similar to the role of a Death Doula, these trainings provide a supportive and safe place for people to learn about death and dying.
Click here for more information about Zenith and her work:
3 Lessons on Living
Hospice workers share their insights.
What if you knew that you were at the end of your life? Would you have done anything differently? A friend of mine volunteers at a hospice, and she hears one regret over and over from patients: letting relationships wither. They wish that they had made more plans with good friends, or they thought about getting back in touch with an old buddy, and talked themselves out of it.
For the past few years, I have been trying to prioritize my friendships, but after hearing her words, I’m making a bigger effort. I send silly texts. I invite friends to dinner. I squelch that inner voice that says, “They’re probably too busy to hang out.” I do not want any regrets.
Dr. Vicki Jackson, president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Board of Directors, said that for the same reason, she doesn’t hesitate to tell people that she loves them.
“I am not Pollyanna; I’m a big academic,” said Dr. Jackson, who has treated dying patients for a quarter century. “But I tell people I appreciate them a lot. I have a lot of deep gratitude, because I know it is dumb luck that it’s not me in that bed. And I know tomorrow it could be.”
Ageing or Aging
“We’re still living with the old paradigm of age as an arch. That’s the old metaphor: You’re born, you peak at midlife and decline into decrepitude. ... A more appropriate metaphor for aging is a staircase. The upward ascension of the human spirit, bringing us into wisdom, wholeness and authenticity.”
~ Jane Fonda
Remembering
I feel that so much of my time lately has been spent thinking, reminiscing about my life. Especially when I was younger.
This picture is one of those reminders of times and places from an earlier time. Mount Baker in the Skagit Valley, a place I really love.
Good memories...sweet memories of road trips, skiing, visiting family. Just always being in awe of the beauty that surrounds us in the Pacific Northwest.
I am grateful for these memories.
What Do You Want People to Say About You?
What Do You Want People to Say About You?
What Do You Want People to Say About You?
I am a big fan of Mary Oliver, beloved poet.
This line came from one of her poems...The Summer Day:
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
And so, what would you do?
Living in Borrowed Time
What Do You Want People to Say About You?
What Do You Want People to Say About You?
I love this poem...saying...wisdom:
"We live within borrowed time and walk in rented shoes.
If we fade, we fade, but let us go out
having loved, laughed and forgiven."
Books I Recommend
Books I Recommend
Books I Recommend
Years ago I read a book called "A Year to Live" by Stephen Levine.
The book is not only for people who do have a year to live: it is a call to everyone else to 'wake' up and start living. Paying attention to what is important, who is important.
Looking back I realize it was an important book for me. I cannot say that I immediately began to make changes, but in small - and not so small - ways I began to question my life.
You can get it in book form and audio format. Check it out!
Here is a link to Amazon and the book: https://www.amazon.com/Year-Live-This-Were-Your/dp/0609801945
Beauty
Books I Recommend
Books I Recommend
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
Confucius.
Helping Hands
What Is Undone?
What Is Undone?
When I think of helping others, I frequently think of hands. They do so much. Extensions of the heart...So tender. Conveying kindness. Compassion. Care.
What, if anything, do 'helping hands' mean to you?
What Is Undone?
What Is Undone?
What Is Undone?
I am reading a book I picked up a long time ago: "Dying Well: Peace and Possibilities at the End of Life" by Dr. Ira Byock. It is good. Dr. Byock is a hospice doctor and starts the book talking about the death of his father. How tending to his father's death informed him in so many ways about death, how people die, how to feel about death.
In each chapter he relates the story of one of his hospice patients and the topics are varied such as: Finding Dignity Amid Disease and Disorientation, Writing a Personal Script for Dying, Growing Within Tragedy and Facing Unbearable Pain, Unspeakable Losses.
To me this book is very rich in ideas, ways to think, emotional intelligence, family and personal resilience...so many 'death-related' topics.
Here is a link to his website and the book: https://irabyock.org/books/dying-well/
One last thought about the 'journey of death' is to ask the question, hopefully in the beginning: "What would be left undone if I died today".
For you, what would be left undone?
Waiting To Be Inspired
Waiting To Be Inspired
Waiting To Be Inspired
Sometimes ideas come slowly....
Waiting To Be Inspired
Waiting To Be Inspired
Waiting To Be Inspired
Sometimes ideas come slowly....