Spook-tackular Halloween Tucson Death Cafe
A write up of Tucson Death Cafe
Our Halloween Friendly and Fearless Tucson Death Café was spook-tackular! Several attendees came in alternate visage among them, Witch, Pumpkin, Butterfly Angel, and Pagan Priestess (in her own skin) celebrating the eve of the Celtic New Year - Samhain - with us. Many thanks to the Bride of the Dead who appeared bearing a scary good chocolate spider cake! Our most enigmatic guest was Death “herself.” She was cloaked in black with a golden skull mask and was engaged, beguiling, and fittingly mysterious slipping away at Café’s close without ever uttering a word!
Our topics of interest turned to how awkward knowing what “the right” thing to say is when someone has died and how easy it is to feel we come up short. We considered how taking simple actions to help the bereaved, like offering to walk the dog or clean the house, might be as appreciated as flowers or loads of casseroles. We shared how modern social isolation issues can be challenging to even knowing who among us may have suffered loss and how simple things like organizing phone trees can be life lines for the bereaved as well as for elders or the homebound. We also discussed how social “norms” have influenced behaviors around grieving, for instance, the idea of men crying being a sign of weakness, and how groups promoting safe respectful dialogue like spiritual growth groups and even Death Cafés have been helpful.