Accepting Death & Trusting The Journey
It’s interesting to observe all of the deaths happening in 2016 and how people are reacting to the celebrity deaths. We do not educate ourselves enough about death and therefore fear it when it appears all around us.
These celebrities made a difference in our lives with their craft. People seem to take it personal when they truly did not even know this person. All we can do is honor that their voice or their acting lives on and that is the person that we know, not them in real life. It’s a great feeling to be mindful as these celebrities die, wish them well on their journey and send prayers to their family and friends who actually were a part of their life.
My introduction to death started when I was 4 years old, my father held a gun to his head and said he was going to kill himself, 16 years later he did just that. It was also my introduction to drugs, violence, and alcohol. In that moment at 4 years old I made a choice to live a different kind of life, a more mindful life.
Through the years I have helped many people transition. People seem to fear death because they have to give up control and learn to trust. Society and religion has not done any favors for us by installing the fear that if we were not “good enough” in this life we will spend eternity in hell.
Most of us grew up with the fear that “God” was watching us from afar and judging everything that we do and keeping record of it. As our society learns to reshape itself we find that this “God” is really all around us and that in fact we are part of the system, that we are indeed god.
When we start to trust the journey that we are on and know in our soul that when we shed this body we just move further on our journey the fear of death will start to dissolve.
One reason we are experiencing such a high number in deaths lately is because the baby boomer generation is aging very rapidly. Most of the celebrities that are dying recently too are baby boomers (born between 1946-1964). Until the year 2030 expect to see 10,000 people turning 65 every day.
There are a few things we can do to be mindful around deaths.
Intentional language.
Most people say the same things to people who are in mourning. “Oh, I’m so sorry for your loss,” “Such and such was a great person,” “Mr. X is now up in heaven watching over you,” “So sorry,” “They died way too young,” “I’m praying for you.” Sometimes it hurts the people in mourning even worse when they hear the people attending the funeral talking to others about their activities that are still going on in their everyday life and not really being there at the funeral. Being present.
In some situations it’s good to “hold space” for the people who are mourning. During these times people just need to feel your presence there and not hear any words. This means just being there, listening, helping out with things, holding their hand when they need someone. If you do feel the need to speak use intentional language like; “I’m thinking of you,” “I love you,” “How can I help?”
Educate Yourself.
Learn to be mindful when someone is in the phase of their life of transitioning. Help them to use the mind-body-spirit connection, help them to be mindful and meditate, help them use their mind for pain management, maybe even walk them through a guided meditation. Breathe with them deep breaths, conscious breaths instead of shallow breathing.
Staying in the present moment is great for all involved, however there might be times when you remind the person who is dying of wonderful memories, showing gratitude to them for all of the blessings they had on your life.
We can change the way we look at death and not live in fear of it. Learn to lead by example. Of course we will feel sadness or loneliness, however we can also learn to adjust and help those around us, keeping alive the energy of the one who transitions.
Leigh Hurst holds an Associate’s Degree in Psychology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work with a minor in Gerontology. She is a Thought Leader, Transformational & Intuitive Life Coach. She is a natural healer (with a certification in Reiki and other modalities) and loves working with holistic healing and energy. Her coaching sessions help guide people on a new path. Leigh’s company Awake & Aging was created to share a new paradigm for humans to live in a world that is guided by the Divine with peace, love and light. You can connect with Leigh here on Facebook, tTwitter, Pinterest & Instagram.