Seems to be the way to go...
by Jo, Perth, WA
Registered Nurse, Aged 47
I haven't yet had the experience of someone close die. I have had the privilege of "being there" with many people in their last days...hours...minutes, and with their families. Apart from the holistic nursing care that I am able to instigate and/or give to provide relief when needed, and the holistic support (information, experience, guidance) to families...it is like watching a process through a glass window that I have absolutely no business being part of. A quiet inner journey that I know nothing of.
It has movement and timing of its own. A breath...then I wait...and another breath...then I wait...and then I realise that the next breath didn't happen...and isn't going to..."it" happened sometime between when the last one "did" and when I noticed the next one "didn't". No-one can exactly state the time of death. I really love that.
J. Krishnamurti talks of fear being not of the unknown, but of loss of the known. My experiences have shown me dying people want to know that others believe they have done a "good" job at family/whatever and that those they love/care for will be "ok" when they have died. Being valued and loved...being able to value and to love...during one's life...not afterwards.
Seems to be the way to go...
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