Most people know how to live well.

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We know what we love to do and where we want to go.

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We know how to work hard and play harder.

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Yet there is one aspect of life that we don't know how to do well.

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We don't know how to die well.

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We don't know how to deal with death well.

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Whether it is our own death, or another's.

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This happens because we have not yet learned how to talk about death.

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We hide from it.

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We run away from it.

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We ignore it.

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And then it smacks us in the face when we lose someone we love.

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Because we do not understand death, we fear it.

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In ancient cultures they learned to honor death.

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The were many rituals, some quite elaborate, around death.

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Death was seen as a part of the cycle of life.

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It was accepted that everyone dies.

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It was expected.

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And by having rituals to honor it, they were able to deal with it in a more sacred manner.

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Yet today, we have removed ourselves from death so much in the western world that we have forgotten how to deal with it.

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We have forgotten how to talk about it.

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And we have forgotten how to prepare ourselves, and our loved ones, for it as well.

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Without an active conversation around death, it recedes into the shadows.

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It becomes a monster to hide from.

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So when it affects us personally, we are not prepared.

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It turns into one of our biggest traumas and fears.

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Yet dying is just the next step in life.

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It is the conclusion of the cycle of life.

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And it is the next step into the great unknown.

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It is something to be honored and not feared.

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To be aware of and not ignored.

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It is our ever-present companion on our journey through life.

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One day we will all meet with it.

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As hard as we may try to out run it we cannot.

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Learning to die well may be one of our most difficult challenges in life.

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Yet is can be the most rewarding.

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Even in our fear and our pain.

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We can all learn to die well.

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~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant