I don’t think so. Here is a story: In March 2008 my three brothers and I stood by father’s body as he lay for viewing in the funeral home. One brother asked for us to do something unexpected; he asked that we say a prayer for my father. This was an unusual request because he [...]
Recently I was very interested to read a New York Times article (Oct. 9, 2011) about the celebrated atheist, and essayist, Christopher Hitchens, who is dying of cancer. He has written books with titles such as: God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Hitchens now confesses that he cannot eat much or drink alcohol [...]
A few weeks ago in the Palliative care ward I sat with a woman who had the same clear intelligent eyes as the woman above — only she was much older (in her nineties). We introduced ourselves and spoke about the weather and where we each born and raised. There was a moment of silence and she [...]
I volunteer on the palliative care floor in a local hospital. Hospice volunteers are trained to to enter the the space of dying person with no personal agenda: no words of wisdom to convery, no advice to impart. Each visit is so unique. For me it is like taking a journey each time where I don’t [...]
When I was in Japan last year I learned that many of the Japanese have relaxed “pick and choose” attitude towards aspects of organized religion. They have an innate regard for Shintoism and its practices of connecting with the deities that they believe reside in the mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, etc of the natural world. [...]
In olden times monks and scholars kept skulls on their desks as a constant reminder of the immanence of death. Sometimes the skull was “hidden” in a painting as is the case in this Cezanne. Death and dying have been on my mind of late. Last week I started volunteering in the palliative care ward [...]
