A different kind of intersection

Yesterday was both National Philanthropy Day and National Grief & Bereavement Day in Canada, an intersect of my two professional passions. 

 

Since returning from a beautiful death doula training retreat with Going With Grace (goingwithgrace.com), I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on how philanthropy (etymology- "love of humankind” source: etymonline.com) and death care intersect. 

My teacher, Alua Arthur, mentioned many times during our time together that “death care is community care” and this has resonated with me deeply. 

Currently trying to determine how philanthropy and this special type of community care intersect… it feels big and daunting, but also full of so much promise. Call me naïve, but I think that philanthropy and death care together could change the world around us… 

Pausing to play

As I am preparing to head off on a death doula retreat next week, I’ve been working longer hours and trying to read some death related books etc before I go… I have about five different blog posts sitting in my head with recommendations for insightful podcasts and some excellent reads. But, as I took a few seconds to scroll just now before starting in on what I lovingly call my ‘night shift’, I hit this post… and howled with laughter. 

A good reminder to be in the moment and enjoy the dorky/mindless content sometimes. We’re all going to die, might as well enjoy! ;) 

Grateful

Life is busy these days. It can be very overwhelming. I feel like I am working 24/7 and it has been tough to take a break. I feel myself approaching burnout and I am tired. 

And yet… I am alive. Blood is coursing through my veins and arteries, air through my lungs. I am alive. And that is something that demands a pause.

I’m grateful. 

Taboo

Since Queen Elizabeth II died last week, I have been really interested to see both the outpouring and outrage on social media. All of it is valid, and even though sometimes on the polar opposite end- both reactions are driven by grief. There are those who view this as the death of an oppressor and those who view this as the death of a leader. The angered reaction or the sadness could feel taboo, depending on your stance.  

Even in grief, we can’t seem to escape the complications of our tricky world and these taboos really abound. I came across a fabulous post this morning on social media which lists some grief taboos, shared by the aggrieved: 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CiXguaEu8Tn/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Grief Revolution

I was scrolling through my social media this morning and came across this post. It’s spot-on, and society needs to recognize that this is reality and there is nothing wrong with it. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch7Iv4ruAcj/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Grief has a way of intertwining it’s way into our every day, much like love. Some days we may not feel it deeply, others it will feel more ‘regular’, and others it will be a deep basin of emotion. 

Sunday August 14 2022

After walking our dog this morning, I was sitting quietly with a cup of coffee. No one else in my family was awake yet. It was peaceful and I took a quick second to appreciate the day. It struck me that today is the only Sunday, August 14 2022 that there will ever be. 

I know I have mundane things to accomplish today, but I really wanted to give time to acknowledge that today is unique. If I’m lucky enough to live out the entirety of the day, I want to go about my mundane chores and tasks with intentionality and with gratitude. After I let that sink in, I had a snuggle with my pup on the floor…

And then I started my mental list of things to do. 

Happy Sunday, August 14 2022! Please enjoy it. It’s the only one we’ll ever get. 

Planning

As I scroll through social media feeds, I often screen shot things I think are interesting and inspiring. The other day, I was doing a photo backup and came across this beautiful picture of a series of tweets. I was once again struck by what a gift this gentleman’s mom had provided to him. A reminder to go even more in depth with my own plans.