The word ‘death’ elicits many types of reactions. You had one right now, didn’t you? Just reading that word brought forth a thought, a memory, perhaps even a limiting belief.
For some, the topic may bring up raw emotions. Some people are curious. Too commonly the word ‘death’ causes fear-it’s become a taboo in our society that we aren’t allowed to talk about or we feel anxious or panic that, if we do, we will unknowingly invite it into our lives. Ironically, the minute we are born, death becomes a part of our story. Why does death scare us so much?
Perhaps, part of the answer lies in our lack of opportunity to speak about it. We don’t know what to say when presented with the situation of this eventuality. We stutter, we pause, we turn away...sometimes we desperately try to ‘fix’ it or unknowingly dismiss someone’s feelings telling them, “it will get better”. Death isn’t something we can ‘fix’.
We can, however, start conversations and, in doing so, allow ourselves to explore the only similarity in all of our journeys. Although it may still remain mysterious, this ‘death thing’, it will become a little less scary and maybe a bit better understood.
I invite and encourage you to talk about death, partly to relieve any fears-if you have them, but also, in discussing this subject, it encourages us to live more fully, to share our stories-allowing others to share theirs and to value what we have while we are here in this moment.
There are places to discuss death, we just need to create more opportunities to do so. Not sure how to start that conversation? I run workshops, facilitate meetings and coach people in all walks of life on this subject. Please contact me to learn more.
