This past week marked the start of the Pathways to Practice class through INELDA (International End of Life Doula Association). I'm feeling so inspired, and I'm thinking about the different ways I can be of service. How can I bring what I already do to the table?
In the past, I've helped clients create memoirs intended as a keepsake for their children and grandchildren. I plan to offer this service as part of my end-of-life doula practice.
I've written about typewriter repair on this page, too. There's something meditative about typewriters. When we write on a typewriter, we find ourselves in a place where we must accept our imperfections. A slip of the finger, a missed letter—we can choose to let it be. To breathe. To keep going.
I will also be offering a typewriter poetry service. Clients will be able to order poems honoring their loved one. These can also be given as gifts to family or friends.
Active listening is so important. When my mother was dying, I held space for her. I let her talk. I listened. I feel this is the greatest gift we can give another person.
When I'm present with someone, it's not about me. It's about how I show up for them. What I can do. How I can be there. This practice is also making me think of communities I'd like to be part of, and communities I'd like to return to.
Check out the Order of the Good Death. I was a member at one time and hope to rejoin.
Right now, I'm reading a couple of interesting books: The Grieving Brain by Mary-Frances O'Connor and The Final Act of Living: Reflections of a Longtime Hospice Nurse by Barbara Karnes.
I so appreciate you joining me on my journey.
Thank you for being.
Me and my little brother, Miles, who died August 2015.