So I'm starting this blog to document my thought process as I try to understand how I got here, and more importantly, where I am going.
In a nutshell, I turned 50 this year, I got laid off from my job after 13 years in the same chair, and my 17 year old son moved away from home. Ok, this happens to a lot of people. No biggie. But here's the question - why am I now so fascinated with death and dying?
And I don't ask this question because I think there's a problem with it. Rather, I ask it because I feel there's something in the question that speaks to my uniqueness as a human being. And, if I may be so bold, it speaks to my purpose here on the planet. As if everything I've been living for is suddenly coalescing into this next step. Or maybe it's a project.
My life feels pretty nebulous and vague right now. But that doesn't stop me for taking steps forward. I sat down with my dear friend Tonya Surman the night I found out I was laid off and talked about my future. The next morning, she sent me an email saying she'd heard about this program in New York City through the Zen Centre there on death and dying. That was it. The first step. I applied, I took the overnight MegaBus to New York City, and I got accepted. Oh yeah, and I need to do 100 volunteer hours with dying persons.
So that's what I'm doing. Those are the pieces I am building the next stage around. But I continue to ask myself - what stage is that? Or, in other words, why is a 50 year old woman who's super energetic and in excellent health so obsessed with working with the death and dying? Why is this my calling? Where is it taking me? Because I do feel like I am being taken somewhere by some force larger than myself to do some great thing also larger than myself.
I am committing to blogging once a week to document this journey. I welcome you along for the ride, as I seek to discover where this passion is taking me and what it is creating.
In a nutshell, I turned 50 this year, I got laid off from my job after 13 years in the same chair, and my 17 year old son moved away from home. Ok, this happens to a lot of people. No biggie. But here's the question - why am I now so fascinated with death and dying?
And I don't ask this question because I think there's a problem with it. Rather, I ask it because I feel there's something in the question that speaks to my uniqueness as a human being. And, if I may be so bold, it speaks to my purpose here on the planet. As if everything I've been living for is suddenly coalescing into this next step. Or maybe it's a project.
My life feels pretty nebulous and vague right now. But that doesn't stop me for taking steps forward. I sat down with my dear friend Tonya Surman the night I found out I was laid off and talked about my future. The next morning, she sent me an email saying she'd heard about this program in New York City through the Zen Centre there on death and dying. That was it. The first step. I applied, I took the overnight MegaBus to New York City, and I got accepted. Oh yeah, and I need to do 100 volunteer hours with dying persons.
So that's what I'm doing. Those are the pieces I am building the next stage around. But I continue to ask myself - what stage is that? Or, in other words, why is a 50 year old woman who's super energetic and in excellent health so obsessed with working with the death and dying? Why is this my calling? Where is it taking me? Because I do feel like I am being taken somewhere by some force larger than myself to do some great thing also larger than myself.
I am committing to blogging once a week to document this journey. I welcome you along for the ride, as I seek to discover where this passion is taking me and what it is creating.
