…Dying well.

As I’ve been witness to a number of deaths over the past 18 months of my life, I’ve been thinking a lot about death and dying. So much so, that I have marked my calendar to remind me to look into becoming a hospice volunteer, once I have completed my MBA studies, next December.

Dying well is as much a part of life as living well. In fact, I would challenge that one cannot embrace life fully without embracing the idea of death, as it is the natural conclusion of life. So why not plan to die well?

For me, dying well means planning for death when still able to do so. To be as prepared as possible, to wrap up up as many loose ends as possible, to be able to face the end with a full awareness of what is happening, and to be in as much control of the manner of dying as is “allowed”. To die in peace.

Those who die suddenly and/or violently cannot do these things, other than to be prepared with a will, letters to loved ones etc.

But most of us do not die this way. Most of us will end our lives in a slow decline due to incurable illness or “old age”. Plenty of time to carry out a plan to die well.

I am going to be studying more on this subject as time allows in the coming months. I find it to be fascinating. I am not afraid of dying, although I have many things I want to do and see on this earth first. I hope my death is many years away yet, and when it does come, that I will be able to die well.

The WB