Death, the Party

November 2, 2015 — #death, All Souls, ancestors, Day of the Dead, dead, spirits

Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead

Beliefs about death and afterlife vary, but we all share the knowledge that we will die. If you have helped anyone with end of life issues you know each departure is unique.  If you are close to anyone who has departed you have had the experience of some eternal bond that is not broken by that exit.  Some essential part of your relationship remains and feels alive.  I started to study my ancestry after both of my parents were dead.  I had a few brief conversations with them about their families in history, but they had little information.  My dad said he was Scotch Irish, which is true.  My mother thought she was a relative of Zachary Taylor, which does not seem to be a fact.  I believe they would have been very fascinated to learn about their ancestors, but maybe now they are one with all our relations.

My dad died in a a hospital setting, but my other died in her own home.  She had severe dementia at the end of her life.  We had excellent help from hospice for the last months of her existence.  The hospice nurses know all about death since it is their specialty.  They let us know that it is common to have visitations like my mother did before she passed.  Some people have brief encounters but my mother had large crowds of visitors for months.  It was clear that she was in touch with other beings, and sometimes we had the sensation of feeling their presence also.  They were not ghosts, but were the ones who had come to accompany her across the bridge.  She was able to die peacefully in her bed after all the interaction.

This week celebrations mark the remembrance of the dead.  As we in the northern hemisphere journey deeper into winter and darkness the departed are free of time.  Neither global warming nor the stock market has power over them. They are in an eternal state we will know someday.

Day of the Dead