Here are some ideas for reaching out and connecting to someone who’s dying. Connect by talking. As an equal, person to person, face to face. Say what you think. Express what you feel. If the dying person is slow to open up, don’t push them. Just let them know you’re ready to move to a […]

Do you have preconceptions about what dying people are like? Expect them to live until they die…then let them do precisely that! The one who’s dying needs you to reach out because those who know they’re dying may hesitate to voice their deeper thoughts and feelings. And because they’re often afraid of upsetting the people […]

What the caterpillar perceives is the end, to the butterfly is just the beginning. Melanie Hack Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend Read an excerpt now TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

There’s a tendency to treat dying people differently: Voices are often lowered. People’s faces may appear overly somber or they may take on a false cheeriness. Topics of conversation become more limited and some things are no longer talked about at all. As a result, the dying person may feel they’re being pushed to one […]

The miser thinks he’s living when he’s hoarding up his gold; The soldier calls it living when he’s doing something bold; The sailor thinks it living to be tossed upon the sea, And upon this vital subject no two of us agree. But I hold to the opinion, as I walk my way along, That […]

Death is not too high a price to pay for having lived. Mountains never die, nor do the seas or rocks or endless sky. Through countless centuries of time, they stay eternal, deathless. Yet they never lived! If choice there were, I would not hesitate to choose mortality. Whatever Fate demanded in return for life […]

As I mentioned in my last Blog post, if your loved one is dying you may be going through a whole lot of emotions (guilt, anger, frustration, sadness…), feeling overwhelmed with questions (of what to say, how to act, wondering what will happen), and stressing about responsibilities and another concerns (finances, career, family…). Here are […]

Someone you love is dying. It hardly seems possible. It hurts. It hurts to see them go through what they’re going through. It hurts that you cannot protect them, that you cannot change their outcome. It hurts to feel all that you feel. It feels as if a part of you is dying too. You […]

Imagine helping a friend on a journey to a remote monastery perched on top of a mountain. As you begin your trip, the path is fairly clearly marked and the goal easily seen in the distance. But as you approach, the tops of trees in the forests through which you pass often obscure the monastery. […]

Here is a beautiful story that was recently passed on to me (thanks Marlene), and is circulating around the Internet. I don’t know who the author is: I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. “I’m glad I have a […]