Death Cafe: Talking About the "D" Word Over Dinner
A write up of Death Cafe Philadelphia and Greater Philadelphia
On Monday April 28, 2014 the group known as "Life Explorers" reconvened at Le Pain Quoditien for the monthly Death Cafe Philadelphia, a venue to reflect and share one's thoughts on life and death aka "The 'D' Word".
Organized and hosted once again by Rachel Zeldin, founder of Funerals360 and Simcha Raphael, founder of the Death Awareness, Advocacy, and Training (DA'AT), lively group discussions were heard throughout the restaurant as the participants dined and discussed topics ranging from personal experiences with death, their bucket list items, and their own desires for when life's expiration date finally comes up.
The Life Explorers commented that the Death Cafe was "unexpectedly nice, out of the box, open, hip, cool, social, fun, fascinating, playful, and free thinking" - not phrases you would normally think about when talking about death and other end-of-life matters.
Zeldin has committed to continuing the conversation on monthly basis to make the topic of death "less taboo" and to "put death out in the open". She claims, "not nearly enough people think about death and pre-plan funerals, leaving us extremely vulnerable when the event happens - as it will to all of us." Zeldin encourages individuals to pre-plan and communicate their funeral or memorial wishes with their loved ones to avoid the stress and emotional and financial burden that a family will face when planning a funeral at the last minute.
She has created free funeral planning and educational resources available in the Resource section of Funerals360.
Death Cafe Philadelphia meets once per month in and around Philadelphia as part of the international Death Cafe movement. Anyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. It is free but RSVP is preferred via Meetup group: Death Cafe Philadelphia.
The next Death Cafe Philadelphia will be held at Journey's Way in Manayunk/Roxborough on Wednesday May 14, 2014. RSVP via Meetup: Death Cafe Philadelphia.