What really matters at the end of life

Very moving TED talk by BJ Miller on What really matters at the end of life.

I grew up with a dad who thought and talked a lot about death. He introduced me to the work of Elizabeth Kuebler-Ross and even did past life regressions in our living room.

I realized quickly that not everyone is as comfortable talking about death as I am. This became especially clear once I moved to New York City.

While we don’t have to all believe in past lives, we should all be comfortable talking about death. I will make sure my kids will.

3 Comments leave a comment below

  1. Yes, I found his talk very inspiring too, thanks for spreading it. I have experienced many deaths of loved ones, somehow thinking about death has always been a part of my life. No, not always easy. But I never could/can understand, why so many people still shy away from this issue, as everyone experiences it and we can be of so much help to one another. It might be scary to many, yes, but other things in life are too. To deal with death and dying made me open and appreciative for life and people in a way that helps me a lot and gives my life a new dimension. Strangely enough it makes me feel safer in life somehow too, although I often felt lonely, because many friends couldn’t deal with the losses I experienced.

    Ava
    Sep 14th, 2015 / 4:02 pm

  2. Indian Author Siddharth Shanghvi beautifully expresses

    “I am no longer certain what is important, or memorable. Books we read are often forgotten. Our travels become dusty, inaccurate memories. Political convictions fade. The passions, the friends, the lovers, all die out.

    Perhaps what matters in the end is how we forget, and how much we forget. Maybe the task ahead of us is to be again the clean, excellent, hope-bristling unwritten page we had once been.

    For now I see that we shall have to start over, and over again, so what use was all this information? In the end, my alleged sophistication weighed me down, my mediocre knowledge held me back, the accident of prosperity had been a weight and the love a waste: for to be wise, and to be free, is to have nothing at all.”

    Ajay Zaveri
    Sep 14th, 2015 / 11:08 pm

  3. I’m comfortable talking about death but felt that guy’s tone was angry.

    Ben Weeks
    Sep 15th, 2015 / 2:52 pm