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August 29, 2015

The Landmark of Aging with Grace

Written by Mary Jo Bennett

To be confronted with a serious illness is to be confronted with a fear of death for most of us. How do we balance hope with realism? And how do we age with grace? Drawing on Atul Gawande's book, Mary Jo Bennett highlights some ways our culture is evolving in its relationship with death.

August 8, 2015

The Zen of Biggie’s “Ready To Die”

Written by Paul Singleton, III

With the near-constant news of extra-judicial police killings and mass shootings, it would be easy to live in a constant state of fear. Faced with his own fragile mortality, a Buddhist contemplates our collective fear and grief. For him, meditation is not about relaxation but about awakening to life — in its wonder and in its sorrow.

May 26, 2015

Who Will Be My Guide in This Darkness?

Written by Lauren Small

Pediatric oncologists and parents alike are searching for someone to help them bear the suffering they must witness. An essay reflecting on doctors, Dante, and treating children with cancer.

May 2, 2015

The Time I Stopped to Read Terry Tempest Williams’ Comments

Written by Trent T. Gilliss

Sometimes we buzz through our social media streams and forget to pause, connect, and read more deeply. The marvelous writer Terry Tempest Williams teaches us to do just that — all through the story of her dog.

April 9, 2015

Postcards from Passover: Life’s about Death and Birth (Day 7)

Written by Esther Cohen

Some days you remember forever and ever. A picture and a poem to celebrate Haggadah possibilities during Passover.

March 11, 2015

On the Brink of Everything: An Early Morning Meditation

Written by Parker J. Palmer

Inspired by a mother's observation of her toddler's awe of the world, Parker Palmer reflects on the mystery of the world and the grace of wholeness — delighting in the gift of life as a septuagenarian.

February 22, 2015

Remembering How to Weep

Written by Zubin Mistri

The memory of a father weeping reminds a son how men often don't tend to grief well. But, by sharing emotions, fathers may be a key in helping boys grow into stronger, more compassionate human beings.

February 18, 2015

Death, The New Normal

Written by Parker J. Palmer

We are told to embrace the fact that death is part of life. Embracing emotional honesty, Parker Palmer shakes his salty fist at fate's inevitable hand with a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

February 16, 2015

Mary Oliver’s Cancer Poem

Written by Mariah Helgeson

The highly acclaimed and beloved poet Mary Oliver reads her four-part poem, "The Fourth Sign of the Zodiac," — a poem in which she explores death, purpose, and the call to live after being diagnosed with lung cancer several years ago.

January 4, 2015

Only Air and Light Remained

Written by Douglas Danoff

Have our funeral rituals disengaged us from the embodied act of physically burying the dead? A grandson on the our discomfort about death — and we can reconnect with the lives we lost.

December 14, 2014

We Must Return to This List

Written by Parker J. Palmer

A tribute to the children and adults who died in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School honored with a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye. A list we must return to and remember out of love and hope for a safer world.

November 21, 2014

Let the Discomfort Begin with Me

Written by Courtney E. Martin

Atul Gawande's new book on the aging and the dying process inspires this column on turning bearing witness to our own instincts and doing things a different way.

November 17, 2014

The Spectrum of Joy and Sorrow in a Song (Your Audio Selfie)

Written by Bekah Johnson

Sometimes a song can help us through the darkest hours of our lives. Reflecting upon the loss of her father, Jen Raffensperger shares Josh Ritter's "Lantern" as her greatest musical moment for the Your Audio Selfie project.

October 23, 2014

The Autumn of Our Own Existence

Written by Omid Safi

As the chlorophyll fades and the splendor of fall emerges, a meditation on color, mortality, and divine presence — complemented with the poetry of Rumi and Farid un-Din Attar.

August 10, 2014

Can a Museum of the Macabre Help You Deal with Death?

Written by Barbara Becker

In a society uncomfortable discussing death, a new museum in Brooklyn is taking up the charge. Barbara Becker offers her perspective on the exhibition, "The Art of Mourning."

June 7, 2014

No Mourning, No Pieta, No Tears: Waiting for the Final Death

Written by Gloria Jean Bubba

A daughter shares this meditation on the grief and the loss that comes slowly from losing her mother to Alzheimer's disease. Through the story of Gethsemane, she finds an uncomfortable solace and a quiet rebuke for falling asleep while waiting.

May 21, 2014

How Then Shall I Live?

Written by Parker J. Palmer

As you read this poem, Parker Palmer asks us to ponder a simple question: "How, then, shall I live?"

April 9, 2014

The Growing Edge of the Beginner’s Mind

Written by Parker J. Palmer

Parker Palmer encourages us to look with child-like imagination to better understand the world's mysteries.

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