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Learning from Grief with a Little Help from Some Trusted and Trained Friends
Enlisting the help of a grief coach can greatly aid those struggling with grief in the ability to gain guidance and insight from a friendly professionalOur Tip of the Week: When dealing with the death of someone beloved to you, grief can be a scary, isolating and complicated process. Being able to talk to someone who has experienced grief, yet is not personally involved with the loss you have experienced, can greatly help you with gaining guidance and insight. That…
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Who Guides Hospice Volunteers? (Interview)
SevenPonds sits down with Steven Willey, a hospice volunteer manager, to find out what inspires him and how he inspires othersSteven Willey began his hospice career in 1995 as a volunteer and home health aide for San Luis Obispo County Home Health and Hospice. In 1997, he became Volunteer Coordinator for Hospice of San Luis Obispo County, where he remained until joining Wilshire Hospice in 2011. Steve has degrees in both psychology and social sciences…
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The Art of Dying Conference April 24th – 26th, 2015, NYC
The New York City Open Center presents a truly compelling conference on end of lifeIf you are interested in exploring end of life, The New York Open Center is hosting a fantastic conference “The Art of Dying” that examines spiritual, scientific and practical approaches to death and dying. You will have the opportunity to attend a three-day weekend of seminars, talks and workshops on a wide spectrum of topics such as:…
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“I Did Not Attend the Funeral, but I Sent a Nice Letter Saying I Approved of it.”
– Mark Twain / Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar(This quote, like many witty quotes, is often wrongly ascribed to Mark Twain, though it was actually Hoar to whom it should be attributed, as the website “Quote Investigator” details. Twain’s place in our collective imagination continues to earn him posthumous accolades. His account of this would have certainly been humorous.)
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“The Last Lecture“
n this memoir, a professor reflects on his life and the pursuit of his childhood dreamsProfessor Randy Pausch didn’t see his struggle with pancreatic cancer as special. Almost 49,000 people are diagnosed with the disease every year, and every one of them has an equally sad story to tell about the diagnosis. His story was no different. But unlike most people diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, Pausch was asked to…
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Quarup: A Festival for the Notable Dead from the Indigenous Indian Tribes Living in Brazil’s Xingu River National Park
A look at a fascinating festival in northern Brazil that honors the notable members of indigenous Indian tribes when they dieEvery August, the indigenous Indian tribes of Brazil’s Xingu River National Park gather together to celebrate the Quarup ceremony, a festival honoring the notable members of the tribes — such as the great leaders, warriors or descendants of nobility — who have died within the past year. The organizers of the Quarup comprise of nine…
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One Man Shares the Life Lessons He Learned From His Nine Year-Old Hospital Roommate with Cancer in One Remarkably Beautiful Poem
Canadian spoken word poet Shane Koyczan delivers an emotionally charged performance of his heartbreakingly beautiful poem, “The Crickets Have Arthritis”At 2007’s Words Aloud Festival, Canadian spoken word poet Shane Koyczan performed a poem he wrote called “The Crickets Have Arthritis.” This beautiful poem shares the lessons he learned about illness, love, life and grief from his nine year-old roommate named Louis who was dealing with cancer. One particularly poignant moment involves Louis asking Shane…
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“A Satisfied Mind”
Jeff Buckley sings his own funeral song years before his deathIn 1954, Joe “Red” Hayes and Jack Rhodes recorded what would become one of the most covered songs of all time. Everyone from Johnny Cash to Ella Fitzgerald has put their own special spin on “A Satisfied Mind.” The song’s simple lyrics pack a lifetime of meaning into just a few stanzas. Hayes said he…
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Monday Hearts for Madalene
Page Hodel creates the most beautiful hearts in an ongoing celebration of loveMy Purple Passion Love for You It’s an honor for SevenPonds to share with our readers the story of the Monday Hearts for Madalene project, a true account of the power of love in the midst of death. The project’s origins take us to 2005: the moment Page Hodel encountered Madalene Rodriguez and fell “instantly, dizzyingly in love with…
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