Death Cafe profile for Emma Pearson
Location: Switzerland
https://kaleidoscopedevelopment.com/
About Emma Pearson:
I am a Brit who has been living in France, just outside Geneva, for the past 25 years. I grew up in Brussels in the 1970s and 1980s then headed to the UK for university studies, specialising in organisational psychology - a field I still love and work in as an independent practitioner.
Between 2015 and 2019 I had a series of four significant losses - starting with my best male friend, Don; then my youngest brother, Edward; then my husband, Mike; and then our youngest child, Julia.
It's been a lot. Too much. And yet the world keeps spinning and somehow life carries on. There is much to live for and much to enjoy about life. I still have our two surviving children, now young adults. There is a lovely new man in my life who goes by the name of Medjool (dates!) And at the time of writing, I still have both parents, now in their mid-80s.
What brings you to Death Cafe?
In addition to the above-mentioned close-in losses, I find that Grief and Loss are everywhere – in our personal lives, in organisations, and of course in Nature – of which we are part. I work as a volunteer at the end of life hospice in Geneva where both my youngest brother then later my husband died. I have spent three years facilitating the year-long training programme for new volunteers as well. In my consulting work as an executive and team coach and organisation development professional, I know well that leaning into the losses and grief are what we want least to do. And yet, over time, with support and compassion (not least from oneself) we are able to refocus the energy it takes to look away and convert it into new life.
I come to Death Café because I believe that Death is natural and much needed for giving life. If we can live with an awareness of our mortality, how might it positively enhance our day-to-day living?
What would you like your legacy to be?
To be good compost.
Beyond that, to have sown seeds for more compassion, kindness and sense of interconnectedness in the world.
Thoughts for sharing:
So many – often by Buddhist teachers, such as Frank Ostaseski. A favourite is:
“We cannot be truly alive without maintaining an awareness of death. Death is not waiting for us at the end of a long road. Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment. She is the secret teacher hiding in plain sight. She helps us to discover what matters most. And the good news is we don’t have to wait until the end of our lives to realize the wisdom that death has to offer.”
Contact Emma Pearson
Emma Pearson's posts on the Death Cafe website
With Emma Pearson
Nov. 7, 2024, 5.30 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. (CET)
Accepts donations
In addition to the above-mentioned close-in losses, I find that Grief and Loss are everywhere – in our personal lives, in organisations, and of course in Nature – of which we are ...
With Emma Pearson
April 25, 2024, 5.30 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. (CEST)
Free
I already facilitate evening dinners called “Let’s Talk About Death Over Dinner” on a monthly basis. This will be my first Death Café, and it is at the invitation ...