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A court-appointed guardian for the decedent at the time of their death.The majority of the surviving adult siblings of the decedent.The majority of the surviving adult children of the decedent.The surviving spouse or state registered domestic partner.The order of priority for next of kin who wish make arrangements, as established by the Washington State Legislature in RCW 68.50.160, is the following: ” Learn more about our mission at Hospice Care of the Lowcountry.Unless your loved one previously expressed their wishes in writing (signed in the presence of a witness) or made prearrangements with a licensed funeral establishment or cemetery authority, it is the responsibility of the legal next of kin to select and contact a funeral home. Dying is an opportunity to uncover what is hidden.
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The sacred is not separate or different from all things, but rather hidden in all things. Many find this to be a profoundly meaningful and healing time.įrank Ostaseski, Cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, Founder of the Metta Institute, a Buddhist teacher, an international lecturer, and a leading voice in contemplative end-of-life care and author of The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully, writes that “ dying is at its heart a sacred act it is itself a time, a space, and process of surrender and transformation. Take some time to be silent and just be in the sacred moment of the passing. After the loved one has died, there shouldn’t be a rush to call the funeral home.If there’s a family pet, consider letting it be a part of the sacred space and to be with the dying person – especially when they begin to actively die.W hile emotions and feelings of grief are valid, step out of the room when you feel uncomfortable. Not making the emotions all about you.Keeping the focus of conversation on the dying person within their space.She created a guide to help establish a sense of sacred during a dying person ’ s vigil, which include: In her organization, she works to bring together spirituality with the physical act of dying by creating ritual and through presence. Megory Anderson, Founder and Executive Director of the Sacred Dying Foundation in San Francisco, has worked extensively in death and dying. Instead of regarding it as something to fear, we should turn it around and regard death as something just as sacred as birth.ĭr. Just like there’s no right way to grieve, there’s no right way to face death.
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It ’ s an extraordinary journey to go from this life to the next and no one knows what it ’ s like to face death except those who go through it. The one thing we do have control over is how we handle it. No matter how much money we spend on products to make us look or feel younger, there ’ s no amount of money in the world that can stop death from coming. Whether in the guise of a family member or our own reflection, recognizing death and accepting it as a part of life doesn’t make it a necessary evil – it makes it a sacred act. Focusing on our own death and end-of-life caring only seems to come up when we are actively facing our own mortality or the mortality of our loved ones. Death is the one thing that happens to each one of us and no amount of planning can stop it. We spend so much time planning for all sorts of activities in our lives – w hile we project our lives into the future by planning, hoping, and expecting average daily outcomes, there is one thing that always seems to be left as an afterthought.
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