Let’s talk about dying. We always hear about battles lost to cancer or other horrific nightmares spent in emergency departments or oncology offices looking for weaponry when we are missing the opportunity present in a mindful death. It isn’t about losing the battle; it’s about choosing a different path. Someday it might be you, or a loved one sitting in a hospital bed getting the news that all the things have been tried. What happens then? An opportunity for a mindful death.

I have one of those jobs most people have never heard of. I’m not quite a therapist, though I bring decades of experience in mental health care. I’m not a hospice provider, but I’ve trained hospice volunteers and sat at many bedsides. I’m also a certified pregnancy massage provider and a grief therapist. After forty years, you learn to wear many hats.