The Challenges of Uncertainty September 19, 2012
Posted by ijwoods in Blog+.Tags: caregiving, dying at home, spirituality, uncertainty
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Note: I took a bit of a break. I’ve been in Australia at a most wonderful retreat, camping out and laying off all electronic communications. I went through about one minute worth of withdrawal, but once I saw the nature and breathed the cool outback air I was home free. During that time I did no blogging or tweeting; I simply enjoyed the experience of life. K and I had gone to this spot several times together over the years and she loved it dearly. The photo is from there.
It always fascinates me that a baby, without any prior training, knows how to feed off its mother and knows how to smile. Without speaking our language it is expert at communicating effectively when it needs something. Seeing this helps me understand that there’s a lot built in to us at birth. It’s nothing I would categorize as “mystical” or “spiritual”, it’s just there. (more…)
Our Life is About Life June 6, 2012
Posted by ijwoods in Blog+.Tags: communication, dying at home, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, meditation, Prem Rawat, providing comfort, spirituality
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While talking to some friends the other night I was reminded about how part of the hospice team consisted of someone to help with the emotional/spiritual side of things. It got me thinking about how K and I had never called upon this person for help, at least not while K was alive. Afterwards I did arrange an appointment for grief counseling which was of big help.
The fact is, that while K was alive neither of us felt like we needed a conversation about spirituality or about anything we were experiencing emotionally. Looking back we were amazingly grounded. This is one part of our journey I feel very satisfied with. A lot if this “groundedness” had to do with our involvement in the development of our own personal peace and appreciation for life for many years. Our common understanding and experience played a big hand in the way we related to each other and to what was happening. Even during the most difficult times it gave us a base of understanding from which to get over whatever we encountered.
It’s one thing to know that everything will go fine on a physical level, i.e. to have the power of attorney in place, have the assets divided up properly, etc., but it’s another thing having to face leaving the world and head into the unknown. It’s an amazing sensation to have our mortality so exposed and to feel the irreversible power of it. Our perspective changes considerably. What was important yesterday becomes trivial today. (more…)
Conscious Departures 