thank you Summer. you are a gifted teacher to your students and to us. the video from Mexico City was beautiful. (the New York Times also had an video op-ed focusing on the significance of marigolds and Day of the Dead that was touching and if folks can find it through a search, i recommend).
western ways have "killed" our relationship with death. as i attended Becoming Monster last week, one workshop i attended we reflected on the life-death-life cycle...it is part of creation, right? i ponder death and dying a lot. do i want to stay around longer? yes. but am a afraid of death. no. it is part of my inhabiting the human form. and like you, i agree "death" is not only physical, but in allowing our beliefs, our institutions, and more to die in allowing something new to rise. these times call us to hold close those we love, care for those in need, and trust the life-death-life cycle. take tender care my friend.
it was through The Emergent Network, but Bayo was involved. and it was so good! i'm writing a post about it now...though still processing, so messy. like normal-lol.
I appreciate this post very much! Giving us a positive and joyous take on the universal and widely feared aspect of all our lives. This is refreshing and unexpected given the grieving that is taking place about a painful and divisive political outcome this week. Death is the great equalizer and we all must come to terms with it. I am struggling here in my 74th year to approach death without fear. This post helps. Thank you Summer!
Thanks so much, Frank! I had is scheduled to go out last week (I'm on vacay with family, timed it to coincide with post election) and I just tweaked it last night to reflect the death we're feeling with the election.
On October 30, I took a group of Spanish 2 college students to an elementary school to do a service learning teaching project about Día de los muertos and it was the best experience for all of them. I had the students write up a reflection after and they all talked about the joyful vibe it gives compared to both Halloween and our Memorial Day (they had to do a cultural comparison). The 4th graders absolutely loved it too. This region can be a hard place and a lot of these kids have already experienced loss-- they loved having this new-to-them way of talking about it
What an amazing gift you've given your students! Is there anything more valuable than the model of living life unafraid of dying when change is happening so very rapidly in the world? Every day we must either integrate loss or repress how we feel about it... and all that repression... ouf!
Thanks, Mike! Glad it helped. I had it scheduled to go out last week (I'm on vacay with family, timed it to coincide with post election) and tweaked the newsletter last night to reflect the grieving many of us are feeling as a result of the election.
I've had 5 near death experiences at the age of 65. Each one changed the trajectory of my life. I chose to come back, to not let go, rather, to accept the shift in focus and actions, to accept past choices and lessons and move forward. Life is about choices, love, and learning, that's the only real wisdom I have despite all my education and experiences which I thought was so important at the time. I'm not afraid of dying, I'm just not ready to pass the baton yet.
That's amazing. I'm curious if you saw angels, or anything on the other side. Do you know SueAnn Randall, once Lager? She died once and said she saw angels and it was glorious.
Thank you for this essay. I was just saying to a friend yesterday that I love celebrating Day of the Dead. It is a comforting and creative way to look at death and honor loved ones. Every year I go to a small museum in the Hispanic section of my city during the last days of October and the first week of November. They always have several altars on display which are so beautiful and heartwarming.
Nice piece Summer. Stay out of ERs. They can kill you. Said as an old asthmatic with a bad ❤️. And not long to go. Death will be the cost of life. What is after will only be known by those who pay the cost. You have a long beautiful life ahead. I feel it.
Oh no you're asthmatic, too? It sucks so much right? You might have told me that and I forgot. I'm sorry you're also dealing with heart issues. Like you say, death is the cost of life. Also, that last part... may it be so amen! and yours too!
Haha the best part of that movie was the beginning! It's funny how the parade that Hollywood invented in Mexico City FOR that movie actually inspired Mexico City to start putting on their own Day ofthe Dead parade after that! Funny how when one culture inspires another culture to inspire that culture right back! See, we all need each other!
thank you Summer. you are a gifted teacher to your students and to us. the video from Mexico City was beautiful. (the New York Times also had an video op-ed focusing on the significance of marigolds and Day of the Dead that was touching and if folks can find it through a search, i recommend).
western ways have "killed" our relationship with death. as i attended Becoming Monster last week, one workshop i attended we reflected on the life-death-life cycle...it is part of creation, right? i ponder death and dying a lot. do i want to stay around longer? yes. but am a afraid of death. no. it is part of my inhabiting the human form. and like you, i agree "death" is not only physical, but in allowing our beliefs, our institutions, and more to die in allowing something new to rise. these times call us to hold close those we love, care for those in need, and trust the life-death-life cycle. take tender care my friend.
You said it so much better than I ever could! Wow, was that a Bayo event? Sounds wonderful.
it was through The Emergent Network, but Bayo was involved. and it was so good! i'm writing a post about it now...though still processing, so messy. like normal-lol.
Is that the one you just sent out? or a different one? I must read!
Just sent out!
I appreciate this post very much! Giving us a positive and joyous take on the universal and widely feared aspect of all our lives. This is refreshing and unexpected given the grieving that is taking place about a painful and divisive political outcome this week. Death is the great equalizer and we all must come to terms with it. I am struggling here in my 74th year to approach death without fear. This post helps. Thank you Summer!
Thanks so much, Frank! I had is scheduled to go out last week (I'm on vacay with family, timed it to coincide with post election) and I just tweaked it last night to reflect the death we're feeling with the election.
On October 30, I took a group of Spanish 2 college students to an elementary school to do a service learning teaching project about Día de los muertos and it was the best experience for all of them. I had the students write up a reflection after and they all talked about the joyful vibe it gives compared to both Halloween and our Memorial Day (they had to do a cultural comparison). The 4th graders absolutely loved it too. This region can be a hard place and a lot of these kids have already experienced loss-- they loved having this new-to-them way of talking about it
That is so awesome! Where do you teach /live?
Southeastern Kentucky. Things here are not exactly or at least not entirely what the national media and pundits would have you believe
What an amazing gift you've given your students! Is there anything more valuable than the model of living life unafraid of dying when change is happening so very rapidly in the world? Every day we must either integrate loss or repress how we feel about it... and all that repression... ouf!
All that repression manifests in the body! Right?
Summer, you have a knack for elevating my soul and spirit. Thanking you.
Thanks, Mike! Glad it helped. I had it scheduled to go out last week (I'm on vacay with family, timed it to coincide with post election) and tweaked the newsletter last night to reflect the grieving many of us are feeling as a result of the election.
I've had 5 near death experiences at the age of 65. Each one changed the trajectory of my life. I chose to come back, to not let go, rather, to accept the shift in focus and actions, to accept past choices and lessons and move forward. Life is about choices, love, and learning, that's the only real wisdom I have despite all my education and experiences which I thought was so important at the time. I'm not afraid of dying, I'm just not ready to pass the baton yet.
That's amazing. I'm curious if you saw angels, or anything on the other side. Do you know SueAnn Randall, once Lager? She died once and said she saw angels and it was glorious.
Thank you for this essay. I was just saying to a friend yesterday that I love celebrating Day of the Dead. It is a comforting and creative way to look at death and honor loved ones. Every year I go to a small museum in the Hispanic section of my city during the last days of October and the first week of November. They always have several altars on display which are so beautiful and heartwarming.
I love that.
Thank you for this, Summer!
Thank you, Susi!
great article!
Thank you, Papadas!
Nice piece Summer. Stay out of ERs. They can kill you. Said as an old asthmatic with a bad ❤️. And not long to go. Death will be the cost of life. What is after will only be known by those who pay the cost. You have a long beautiful life ahead. I feel it.
Oh no you're asthmatic, too? It sucks so much right? You might have told me that and I forgot. I'm sorry you're also dealing with heart issues. Like you say, death is the cost of life. Also, that last part... may it be so amen! and yours too!
I do not fear death. I fear thoughts. Bout death.
Oooh good one! Yes!!!!
I do not fear death. I fear thoughts. Bout death.
I do not fear death. I fear thoughts about death.
Spectre isn't good anyway, so its perfectly fine to pause it there :p
Haha the best part of that movie was the beginning! It's funny how the parade that Hollywood invented in Mexico City FOR that movie actually inspired Mexico City to start putting on their own Day ofthe Dead parade after that! Funny how when one culture inspires another culture to inspire that culture right back! See, we all need each other!