Hickman Lowder

We meet the lifetime legal needs of children and adults with disabilities, the elderly, and their families.

Embracing Death

| Feb 16, 2017 | Older Adults

If you are like me, you may not like thinking or even talking about dying, especially if it’s about you or a loved one. I frequently see the same discomfort in my clients’ faces when we discuss the subject. Discomfort and denial help many of us avoid the topic. Yet death can’t be avoided – at least not yet…

A friend of mine recently sent me a link to a blog called Confessions from a Funeral Director. It is written by Caleb Wilde, who is a sixth generation funeral director from Parkesburg, PA. Reading Mr. Wilde’s blog, I discovered many interesting posts written from the perspective of a person whose job is dealing with death. My favorite post describes nursing homes that have a “front door policy.” Instead of removing a deceased body out of some back door, the deceased is carried out through the front door while the nursing staff line up along the hallway walls, creating a walk of honor acknowledging the life lived and lost. What a wonderful send off!

Mr. Wilde urges us to embrace death, instead of avoiding it. It is the final stage we pass through and by embracing death, we embrace our humanity.

I am renewing my efforts to embrace all stages of life.

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