I visited North Shore Hospice today. Rona Tyndall, a chaplain there, told me that the way we care for our soul can change the way we die. She sees that people who connect to a pastor or a chaplain early in the journey towards death die more peacefully. And she doesn't just mean that they work through their unfinished emotional business. The contact with a spiritual guide actually changes their physical experience, so that they are less likely to experience agitation, acute pain, or delirium in the final stages of death. It seems our bodies need for us to understand that they will come to an end, so that they can do the work of dying in peace.
I left my time with Rona wondering what I need to surrender now, while I am still very much alive. What am I holding onto so tightly that it agitates my body and my soul? What peace could be waiting for me now, if I could just find a way to let go?
No comments:
Post a Comment