Death & Beauty

May 30, 2010

“Underneath this stone doth lie As much beauty as could die.”     Ben Jonson Most people don’t think about beauty and death being connected.  For me they are finely and subtly interwoven, and I think, connected to memory.  Those who’ve worked with death, dying, and bereaved individuals often experience this phenomenon.  Beauty in the right context […]

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Undertaking

May 27, 2010

“Dying is a wild night and a new road.”           Emily Dickinson We need to become more familiar with the realities of death, close-up, as a culture.  We would benefit from seeing death more often, talking and dialoguing about it more frequently, and becoming more involved in caring for our dead. Who is all too familiar […]

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Green Burial Containers

May 26, 2010

“There may be little or much beyond the grave, But the strong are saying nothing until they see.” Robert Frost I mentioned green burial a few posts back, and thought I would annotate that entry by saying a bit more about the kinds of containers that can be used. There are a number of sustainable […]

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Do you have a theme song?

May 20, 2010

’twere no bad thing, Did certain persons die before they sing.” Samuel Taylor Coleridge Call me morbid if you must, but I do like to think about what kind of music I’d like played on the day of my own funeral.   So far, the one song I keep coming back to is a Tibetan piece […]

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Virtual Mourning – or Immortality on the Web

May 17, 2010

“Beauty is  everlasting,  And dust is for a time.” Marianne Moore The information revolution that we are now in the midst of touches every facet of our life.  Why should death be any different?  There are a number of virtual mourning websites that offer a variety of bereavement services to those who’ve lost a loved […]

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What is Palliative Care?

May 13, 2010

“The prime goal is to alleviate suffering, and not to prolong life.  And if your treatment does not alleviate suffering, but only prolongs life, that treatment should be stopped.”                                              Christian Barnard What is palliative care?  See Canadian Virtual Hospice: http://www.virtualhospice.ca Palliative care is an vitally important part of any health care system.  It’s likely that […]

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Home sweet home

May 10, 2010

“Perhaps if Death is kind, and there can be returning, We will come back to earth some fragrant night, And take these lanes to find the sea, and bending Breathe the same honeysuckle, low and white.” Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) When my time comes, I hope I get to die in the comfort of my own […]

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When a Child Dies

May 2, 2010

“On the seashore of endless worlds the children meet with shouts and dances.”        Rabindranath Tagore Most people don’t like to think about children dying.  Maybe that’s why so many stillbirths and miscarriages are mourned privately.  Many bereaved parents choose not to have any kind of ritual or ceremony for those who suddenly vanish from their […]

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Living Life Fully

April 28, 2010

“One of the best safeguards of our hopes, I have suggested, is to be able to mark off the areas of hopelessness and to acknowledge them, to face them directly, not with despair but with the creative intent of keeping them from polluting all the areas of possibility.” William F. Lynch Too many of us […]

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Baby Boomers Will Transform the Deathcare Industry

April 25, 2010

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?”  Satchell Paige The first of the baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) start turning 70 in 2016.  In anticipation of this the international death-care industry is gearing-up for a massive increase in cremation (and burial) demands.  To check out boomer […]

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