Posts Tagged ‘death’
GriefSPEAK: The New Year Resolution that almost wasn’t – Mari Nardolillo Dias
By: Mari Nardolillo Dias Carmella had one goal, one resolution. Nothing lofty like many New Year resolutions, yet powerful and significant to her. A fingerprint. To be more exact, her deceased husband’s thumbprint. Carmella’s husband Joaquim passed gently without a sound. She planned to have a wake with an open casket (for the sake of…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: A Conundrum at Death: The “Rally” – Mari Nardolillo Dias
by Mari Nardolillo Dias, contributing writer The Rally is sometimes referred to as “the last hurrah”, “the final goodbye” or the “end of life rally”. Today it is usually referred to as “terminal lucidity”, a term coined by Michael Nahm (Psychology Today). Whatever term you prefer, it refers to a loved one who has been…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: Loss of Pet Reprise – Mari Nardolillo Dias
By: Mari Nardolillo Dias I spent a good part of an evening this week sitting in the waiting room at a Veterinary Trauma Hospital. Waiting. For 5 hours. As a keen student of observation, I sat close to the front door, which opened directly in front of the reception area. This allowed me to watch…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: Positive comfort of your words – Mari Nardolillo Dias
By: Mari Nardolillo Dias “The beat of a heart is constantly moving in an up-and-down motion… The pulse of life is exactly what life is; the monitors depict life as it should be… Life is over when there is a flat line. If we have nowhere to go, no challenges to bring us up, no…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: Looking in the rear-view mirror – Mari Nardolillo Dias
By: Mari Nardolillo Dias Looking in the rear-view mirror- Caution objects may be closer than they appear “I must go down to the seas again, For the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that May not be denied; “(John Masefield, 1902, from ‘Sea Fever’) A dear friend coined…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: Acute grief and numb reality – Mari Nardolillo-Dias
By: Mari Nardolillo-Dias “Life changes in an instant. The ordinary instant” (Joan Didion) Many of you may be familiar with the Schrodinger’s Cat paradox, which posits a thought question: Can a cat in a sealed steel box be both alive and dead simultaneously? Although a question posed in quantum mechanics, many feel like the cat…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: Don’t Hold Your Breath – Mari Nardolillo-Dias
By: Mari Nardolillo-Dias “The Art of Life is the most distinguished and rarest of all the arts”. (C.G.Jung) When we are in dire pain, we tend to hold our breath. We may clench our teeth and grimace. We don’t realize that the lack of oxygen, which we think we are holding in reserve actually depletes…
Read MoreGriefSpeak: We are all living and dying – Mari Dias
By: Mari Dias, contributing writer “Shadows are fallin’ and I’m running out of breath Keep me in your heart for a while If I leave you it doesn’t mean I love you any less Keep me in your heart for a while…” (Warren Zevon) Live and Let Die We are all living and dying. Simultaneously.…
Read MoreHow do you prepare for the greatest tragedy of your life? – Harris N. Hershey Rosen
by Harris N. “Hershey” Rosen, contributing writer & author, “Why? Because I Love You” Photo: AARP Below you will see a letter from the Baltimore Sun to a writer, Amy Dickinson. Amy is the area’s “Dear Abby”. One letter she received stopped me in my tracks. It might do that for you, too. A 73…
Read MorePersonal pandemic preparedness. Organizing information for those you love – Harris N. Hershey Rosen
by Harris N. “Hershey” Rosen Part of what every author does is “get the word out” about their book – so for the past year authors have been a bit constrained from the usual public speaking gigs, book signings and media opportunities. I suspect that will slowly return to normal, or a new normal will…
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