Preparing to die well has many of the markings of falling in love...
Category: meditation
Dreams and Dying, Part 2
Dreams and Dying, Part 2 Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him. John 11:11 Many years ago I was told that if a person died in a dream they would be dead in real life, too. I am not sure how anyone would know, but the thought was … Continue reading Dreams and Dying, Part 2
Dreams and Dying, Part 1
Dreams and Dying, Part 1 I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Joel 2:28 I do not regularly journal about my dreams, although I believe it can be a helpful practice. Much has … Continue reading Dreams and Dying, Part 1
Grief, Part 6
Grief, Part 6 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19 Understanding and identifying the five stages of dying (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and … Continue reading Grief, Part 6
Grief, Part 5
Grief, Part 5 If a patient has had enough time and has been given some help in working through the previously described stages, he will reach a stage during which he is neither depressed nor angry about his “fate”…He will have mourned the impending loss of so many meaningful people and places and he will … Continue reading Grief, Part 5
George Floyd and Jesus
George Floyd and Jesus Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a … Continue reading George Floyd and Jesus
Grief, Part 4
Grief, Part 4 When the terminally ill patient can no longer deny his illness, when he is forced to undergo more surgery or hospitalization, when he begins to have more symptoms or becomes weaker and thinner, he cannot smile it off anymore. His numbness or stoicism, his anger and rage will soon be replaced with … Continue reading Grief, Part 4
Grief, Part 3
Grief, Part 3 “When the first stage of denial cannot be maintained any longer, it is replaced by feelings of anger, rage, envy, and resentment.” Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, MD[1] According to Swiss-American psychiatrist, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, the initial stage of dying is denial and isolation, which I reflected upon in last week’s Life Note. The next stage, … Continue reading Grief, Part 3
Grief, Part 2
Grief, Part 2 “Those who have the strength and the love to sit with a dying patient in the silence that goes beyond words will know that this moment is neither frightening nor painful, but a peaceful cessation of the functioning of the body. Watching a peaceful death of a human being reminds us of … Continue reading Grief, Part 2
Grief
Grief “The dance of life finds its beginnings in grief…It is the way in which pain can be embraced, not out of a desire to suffer, but in the knowledge that something new will be born in the pain.”[1] Henri Nouwen No discussion of death and dying would be complete without considering grief. Grief is … Continue reading Grief
Contemplating Grace 