Summary for 11/11/20 DC-Hillsborough NC
Hello fellow mortals! Thank you to those who delved and dipped into our death discussions during the November 11th Death Café – Hillsborough (DC-H) Zoom call! Welcome to the SIX new folx (and welcome back to someone who hadn’t dropped in since 2018)! Zoom offers a different dynamic from meeting in person and allows people to participate from long distances (GA, MN, and OR this time). **Mark your calendars for the next DC-Hillsborough on January 13th, 6pm-8pm, via Zoom meeting. Look for a reminder I’ll email 2-3 days prior *which will include the Zoom link*. DC-H will not occur in December. SUMMARY: • Topics we discussed and shared (separated by **): **Since 11/11 was Veterans Day, we lit candles, gave a moment of silence to honor our veterans, and then a few shared short stories. Suggestions from between the two veterans in our Zoom meeting were to “remember the stories of veterans” and the Veterans for Peace website https://www.veteransforpeace.org/ This is the article I mentioned and quoted: https://inmilitary.com/why-saying-thank-you-for-your-service-offends-some-veterans/ **November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. To learn the difference between hospice and palliative care (and much more), go to https://www.nhpco.org/ **The Last Word was suggested again; its series description on Netflix: “Suddenly widowed, a woman becomes a eulogist while navigating the existential landscape of death, grief and love.” **The book Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing by Daniel Foor was shared with us. Daniel is a ritualist and educator focused on helping others to reclaim their innate capacity to relate with their ancestors. **The Shack was mentioned within context; originally a novel by William P. Young, it was also created into a 2017 movie. **We heard good news that two more conventional cemeteries in the area are being converted to hybrid cemeteries. For a plethora of information, go to our own NC-based non-profit Green Burial Project website https://www.greenburialproject.org/ , and the Green Burial Council https://www.greenburialcouncil.org/ **Writing letters in our grief to our deceased loved ones affirms that grief is a normal and healthy process. In Hillsborough, NC, you can drop your letter into a slot box at the Unicorn Bereavement Center (completely secure and private). Periodically, the letters are burned collectively, a symbolic release. **Because not all memories are good, we shared some releasing type rituals such as burning the piece of paper after writing on it that which you want to let go. Alternatively, one could crumple the piece of paper and watch it float away down a creek. **A good question was asked of everyone, “How will you remember and involve the deceased during the holidays?” (It was pointed out that, for some, the upcoming holidays are the first without their loved one/s.) Some answers included: telling their stories and your stories about them; writing their names on cards and putting them on placemats at the dining table; writing what and who we are grateful for; having family gatherings over Zoom; making old favorite recipes as we remember those who used to make those dishes. • Educational opportunity: “Death, Dying and The Afterlife; Lessons from World Cultures” is offered by Peer Learning of Chapel Hill https://peerlearningofchapelhill.com Instructor: Michael Joseph • The next Death Café Mebane is this Wednesday 11/18 from 6-8pmET. If you are on Facebook, please “like” the Death Café-Hillsborough page (search @deathcafehillsborough). See you at the next DEATH CAFÉ – Hillsborough VIA ZOOM! JANUARY 13, 2021 6:00 – 8:00PM Stay safe and be well! Neidra “Death is a Life Coach!”