Legacy, Love Letters + Heart Wills
The Paradox of Legacy: Hint, Stop Trying!
“Ever since I was little, I’ve been thinking about my legacy. I fantasized about being remembered and acknowledged for doing great things for the world. I projected to the future and wondered what people would remember about me and what difference I will have made for others. In some ways this question has guided my whole life. I now see that perhaps I’ve been misled…”
Read the most recent posts below or explore by topic.
Making Sense of Life & Death
Legacy, Love Letters + Heart Wills
Departure Directions
What Happens After We Die?
“When we understand about death, we understand a lot more about life.” This was the key message I heard from Barbara Bartolome when she shared the story of her near-death experience<fn>1. In 1975, Dr. Raymond Moody's best-selling book Life After Life focused...
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Let the Love Flow
It happened just over two years ago. My heart was in my throat and I was starting to sweat. My 80-year-old Dad was sitting across from me in his kitchen-chair, an almost antique office chair with two-layers of seat cushions and armrests to help with the ups and downs....
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A Forgotten Treasure: Capturing Love in a Moment in Time
The rain pelted at the window as my 13-year-old daughter and I cracked open a journal I saved from my days as a teenager. I recently rescued the Hilroy notebook from the dusty box that had been in storage longer than she’s been alive. We lay on our backs on my bed,...
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Options, opportunities and openings: The Impacts of Greening your Death
Options, opportunities and openings are the promise of greening your death, in particular what happens to you after you die. For those of you who couldn’t join us at the May 28 gathering, here’s a wee snapshot of what unfolded at our first of two Greening Your Death...
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Learning From Death: A Mother’s Greatest Teacher
Twenty-five years ago, Akasha learned about life from her dying eleven-year-old daughter, Sarah. In a recent conversation Akasha described Sarah’s death as a “beautiful experience that profoundly changed who I am and the way I live my life.” I can’t imagine losing my...
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Attending Funerals: What’s in it for You?
One of the reasons I co-founded our company WILLOW is because I love attending funerals. I recently learned on Facebook that my friend’s father had just died. I had great respect for his dad, was sad for my friend, and was looking forward to going to the funeral....
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Fears, courage and promise: How exploring our traditions impacts our lives
A while back I bought a book that I’m afraid to start reading. Even though the book was described by author and women’s wellness advocate Dr. Christiane Northrup as “A masterpiece of women’s wisdom,” I hadn’t been moved enough to crack it open. The book is...
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Remembering and Being Remembered
Remembering and being remembered was the focus of WILLOW’s Reality of our Mortality Learning Circle last month at Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery. Our collective exploring revealed rich insights about why we remember, what we remember and how it makes...
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Taking Care of Death is Taking Care of Life
We hope you had a chance to read our previous newsletter and blogpost Deathcare: Not just another retail transaction. In it you had the opportunity to fill in a short survey about an online course we're developing to guide you to write your Departure...
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