The more life we live, the more we inevitably find death showing up too. Over the past couple of weeks, I have found the anniversary of my hugely loved (by all) stepson's death has interwoven with the death of a dear friend and spiritual teacher of mine. Recently I delivered a two day workshop at the Heretaunga Women's Centre on supporting whanau through death and dying, and independently of that people have reached out asking for help to naivgate this tender and delicate time. And so I felt drawn to recording this podcast episode today in the hope there may be someone out there it may help too.
Seeing the end draw near for a loved one is always incredibly difficult. It is a time of mixed emotions and great unknowingness. But there are things we can do to help the way we presence ourselves with them.
Over the years of supporting family, friends and strangers through the last stages of life, I have grown to see there are some things that can help everyone in the room. These are things that often go untold, and so I thought I would share some here.
If you would like to read more about ways to navigate times such as these, you may like my book, '50 Things to Help when Life Changes - contemplative and nature-based teachings for navigating life transitions'.
I will be running workshops on the topic of compassionate and nature-based care for life transitions and listings will be published on my website here.