Episode 14: The Thin veil of life and death/the importance of exploring the dynamics of death and dying With Cheryl Dienes, MSW and Kenn Orphan, MSW

Grey Matters Now

I love that this episode coincides with the release of my friend and fellow Hospice Social Worker, Cheryl Dienes’ book The Final Dance / What The Dying Teach Us About…EMBRACING LIFE!!

Join Cheryl, Kenn and I for a conversation about the dynamics of death and dying. It is interesting that we are taught, as soon as we are born, to navigate through all general passages of life and development. The one passage that is not part of our developmental education and, that we are all going to experience, is death. If we explore our own experiences and feelings about end of life ahead of time, the conversations are not that uncomfortable and are actually quite liberating. When we process our feelings and beliefs ahead of time, we create a clear open space for being present for processing our raw emotions and or being present for our loved ones for their sacred transition. It is the one thing we will experience that is half physical and half metaphysical. I have had many personal and professional experiences with end of life. EVERYTHING I have learned has been a gift to help be present for myself, others, and for healing during and after a transition of life.

From Cheryl’s book:

I have come to see how important it is to turn toward the end of our life and look squarely at it. We need to learn to accept the inevitability of death. Imagine how different out lives would be if we saw death for what it is, accepted it, and embraced it. Until we do, we will continue to cheat ourselves out of the very gifts that death offers us to illuminate the whole of our lives. These are the gift of clarity about what really matters, the gift of courage to follow our life’s calling, the gift of freedom to authentically speak our truth, the gift of wisdom to let go of what hold us back.

We owe it to ourselves to feed our personal imaginations with images that see death as the natural, non-threatening phenomenon that it is.

-The Final Dance

By Cheryl Dienes, MSW

To purchase and learn more about Cheryl's book The Final Dance visit www.thefinaldance.com.

To find resources for Grief Support contact your local Hospice. You do not have to be a hospice patient or family member to receive grief support and services through hospice will be little to no cost!

Landscape cover art of me in Big Sur By Kirk Fagergren.