Yes. A death cafe. Seriously!
After losing my husband, father and brothers, I have become a death guru.
So why a death cafe?
The answer is simple. It is because I am a grief maestro that I am perfectly aligned to host.
The more pertinent question is why.
So, here’s my thinking:
I have lost the pillars that held me up and loved me unconditionally. Since, I have been searching to make sense of all this tragedy and I honestly still don’t know the reason & doubt that I ever shall.
What I do know is that I must find a way to honour these men.
Initially I set out to help widows move forward with their lives. I became a coach so I would have more skills to offer. I quickly realized that grief is not limited to widows and given my expertise as a grieving daughter, sister and best friend, I evolved to include a larger community.
Still, I can’t stop noticing that we, the bereaved, are on Facebook and Instagram and other social platforms because we need to talk about our loved ones, honour milestones and reach out during emotional ups and downs.
THE PROBLEM IS WE ARE TALKING TO STRANGERS – NOT TO OUR LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS.
This is because we understand that sharing our memories is no longer accepted. We have been told to ‘move on’. We don’t want to ‘burden’ others with our grief.
I suggest there is an alternative. Let’s change the vantage point. Instead of expecting the bereaved to ‘get over it’ and trying to cancel us, why don’t we educate society about death?
Here’s a little secret. We will all experience the death of a loved one in our lifetime – so, let’s talk about it!!!
CLEARLY THERE IS MUCH INTEREST IN DEATH.
I am joining in the footsteps of more than 12,290 prior Death Cafes facilitated in 76 countries around the world. Here we talk about death with no agenda or bias.
Our goal? To normalize the conversation.
TALKING ABOUT DEATH IS THE FIRST STEP TO SHATTER THE TABOO ABOUT DEATH.
I hope you will join me on the journey (& in a death cafe).
Next?
Ask me about step #2
Forever evolving
Susan