Death Phobic Society

Mortality terrifies a good portion of us, especially when we the relationships we have with death, dying and grief aren't really emotionally healthy ones.  

We tend to live our lives as if death will not happen to us or to our loved ones. We ignore it.  We put it on the bookshelf, only to be taken down when "it" is upon us, and then, we only look at it with reluctance and discomfort.   

Look at the language we use -
succumbed, lost the battle, failure to thrive, giving up, etc. 

We see death as something to oppose at all costs.  Look at the amount of money and medical procedures that are reached for at the end-of-life.  We try to postpone it with one more surgery, more medication, more hospitalization.  

But what if we used death as a guiding light to focus, with more purpose, on how we spend our limited time, with whom we allow into our lives and what we focus on?  Could then death be a teacher for what is important?

We all have choices as we can.....
Either deny death, have no meaningful relationship with it, and refuse to acknowledge it, OR we can begin to slowly explore it, researching what our history is with it and take the opportunity to build a bridge towards it.

As I've said before, "end-of-life can be as beautiful as the beginning of life", if:

We acknowledge the reality of death (this doesn't mean we are happy or ready to die).

We understand how death has become over medicalized so that we can keep it at bay for as long as possible, and in the meantime, possibly add suffering to the dying.

We choose to empower ourselves with knowledge so that we can make decisions that will reflect the essence of whom we are and what is important to us at EOL. 

Lean into "The 3-E's to Explore, Empower and Enrich" so that you and your loved ones journey can be filled more peace and serenity.  

Doing Death Well in a Death Phobic Society