Mission Statement
Providing practical, emotional and spiritual support to individuals and their loved ones through the stages of dying, death and bereavement.
Hospice palliative care aims to make the last months of life comfortable, peaceful and dignified for patients and their caregivers by providing care, support, respite and advocacy. Our trained Hospice volunteers work as part of a caregiving team that could include community home nursing, doctors, hospital and facility staff, social workers and spiritual leaders.
Time for a Frank O. Infusion- He says there are really only two questions that matter at the end of life and we can answer them now.
End Well
Frank Ostaseski reminds us that two questions really matter at the end of our lives. Why wait until then to address them?
Taking some time tonight to read the poems of Mary Oliver, by far the most profound writer I think I’ve read in times of grief, who died Thursday. Here is one I’ve turned to again and again:
“In Blackwater Woods”
To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.
“In Blackwater Woods”
To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.
Are you curious to explore the experience of working with the dying, or your own death? Have you ever considered becoming a Hospice volunteer? If so, now is your time to explore that further. Our next training will be held Feb 1 (6-8 pm), Feb. 2 & 3 (9-4) and Feb 23&24 (9-4). If you are interested, please fill out an application at this link.
http://nelsonhospice.org/forms/volunteer-application/
We welcome anyone who is interested in learning more about this area to apply for this training, even if you are not sure about volunteering.
http://nelsonhospice.org/forms/volunteer-application/
We welcome anyone who is interested in learning more about this area to apply for this training, even if you are not sure about volunteering.
Having the time to say goodbye is so pivotal for the grief process, at any age, but especially with babies.
A Device That Gives Parents of Stillborn Babies Time to Say Goodbye
The CuddleCot helps preserve the body of a deceased newborn for days, allowing parents to hold them and take pictures.
nytimes.com
"Love is the lubricant that lets us slip out of the boundaries of the body."
- wise words from Frank O.
- wise words from Frank O.
Frank
Was helping people explore their relationship to death today ....amidst the beauty of Costa Rica.
It seems to me that most people are afraid of death because they don’t know how to be with the unknown.
We are aided in our journeys of transformation when we open to mystery, an intangible experience or force that we cannot predict, measure, or explain. The mystery I am speaking of is not like those Agatha Christie novels you might enjoy reading on a summer’s beach. It is not about adding up the clues like the hero detective does and then declaring that the butler did it!
The encounter with death is pervaded with mystery. It cannot be solved or even fully known by the conceptual mind. It cannot be captured, but like when listening to an extraordinary piece of music, or perhaps viewing a sunset, we can give ourselves over to mystery completely. We don’t just observe mystery; we realize that we are mystery. It lives through us.
In my experience and that of so many people I have accompanied, the encounter with mystery is often marked by awe and wonder, as when our jaws drop open at the sight of unimaginable beauty. The usual activity of the mind stops and our consciousness rests. We become absorbed in tranquility and humbly bear witness.
In such moments, time no longer devours our lives. We enter the eternal now. The future doesn’t exist; it hasn’t happened yet. The past doesn’t exist; it has already happened. Here in the place beyond the tyranny of time, there is no fear of death.
And whenever there is an absence of fear, there is also a presence of love. Love is the lubricant that lets us slip out of the boundaries of the body. Love is the longing that calls us home.
It seems to me that most people are afraid of death because they don’t know how to be with the unknown.
We are aided in our journeys of transformation when we open to mystery, an intangible experience or force that we cannot predict, measure, or explain. The mystery I am speaking of is not like those Agatha Christie novels you might enjoy reading on a summer’s beach. It is not about adding up the clues like the hero detective does and then declaring that the butler did it!
The encounter with death is pervaded with mystery. It cannot be solved or even fully known by the conceptual mind. It cannot be captured, but like when listening to an extraordinary piece of music, or perhaps viewing a sunset, we can give ourselves over to mystery completely. We don’t just observe mystery; we realize that we are mystery. It lives through us.
In my experience and that of so many people I have accompanied, the encounter with mystery is often marked by awe and wonder, as when our jaws drop open at the sight of unimaginable beauty. The usual activity of the mind stops and our consciousness rests. We become absorbed in tranquility and humbly bear witness.
In such moments, time no longer devours our lives. We enter the eternal now. The future doesn’t exist; it hasn’t happened yet. The past doesn’t exist; it has already happened. Here in the place beyond the tyranny of time, there is no fear of death.
And whenever there is an absence of fear, there is also a presence of love. Love is the lubricant that lets us slip out of the boundaries of the body. Love is the longing that calls us home.
Are you alone this holiday? By choice or not ... some of these tips may help you through that experience.
A Griever's Pocket Guide To Spending The Holidays Alone - What's Your Grief
Spending the holidays alone after a loss can feel impossible. Though the day will undoubtedly be tough, there are tips to make things just a little more man
whatsyourgrief.com