Reimagining Life and Death
In this unprecedented moment in time, I find myself leaning into and reaching out with an open heart as we settle into this new normal that is the coronavirus pandemic. Each day brings with it new information, restrictions, escalating anxiety and fear, loss of life, and loss of our daily, grounding routines.
Astonishingly, it has also fueled a deep and abiding realization that we are all in this together. No one is immune. The word my late sister; renowned choreographer, modern dancer, and author, Jeanne Robinson, professed at the end of her final dance on this earth, resonates deeply with me amidst the connection crisis that is unfolding — “ONE.”
All one.
We are all one.
Jeanne performed her Zen-inspired dance (she was also a lay ordained Buddhist monk), Inconceivable Mutual Benefit, at a Benefit Concert organized by her Bowen Island family. Jeanne was 62, nine months into Stage 4 biliary duct cancer treatment, and would transition from this earth a short nine months later. I offer it to you as an illumination of the power our loving connection has to sustain us during this unimaginable era in history.
Grappling with the shifting daily narrative this week, I welcomed the opportunity to tune into a Reimagine End of Life webinar. I stumbled upon this week-long NYC community-driven experience that explores death and celebrates life in October 2018 while attending HBO’s The Convo Series on Mother Loss. Immediately, I experienced a profound sense of belonging and a deep knowing I was destined to join this community. Yet another gift from my beloved niece and Graceful Woman Warrior, Terri Luanna.
And join it I did.
My Grace Lessons Grief Workshop application was accepted for Reimagine’s 2020 NYC Festival. The webinar offered collaborators key info on how to create a successful event. Reimagine’s founder, Brad Wolfe, shared the following about the coronavirus right at the top —
I wanted to write to let everyone know that we are thinking of you. Given our mission at Reimagine, we feel we have a collective and dual responsibility. One is to respond to this pandemic with care and love and avoid putting the people around us at greater risk.
Our second responsibility is to provide meaningful spaces for comfort and conversation around what we’re all facing, given the loss of life and the swirling fear. In a moment when we’re being told that the safest thing we can do is to isolate, we also know that being in community is even more important in times like these.
With that, we are intending to carry forth with Reimagine NYC from June 8-14, whether it be in-person, virtually, or some combination of both. It is our hope that the art, the music, the rituals, the conversation, and everything in between will provide vital opportunities for connection in whatever form our community can deliver them.
Such wise and comforting words…
Check out Reimagine’s Mission here, and join them in A Daily Dose Of Togetherness, a digital experience “aimed at increasing mindfulness, moral elevation, gratitude, and a shared sense of humanity, all based on scientific principles for how to respond well in times of crisis.” Their response to the unparalleled social distancing imposed by this pandemic provides both solace and a sense of community for me.
I hope it does the same for you.
Another resource I encourage parents to check out is the National Alliance for Grieving Children’s booklet, “Responding to Change and Loss,” adapted from activities in the NAGC Workbook, “When Someone Dies.” This booklet is free to download here and was created thanks to the support of Alex Cares for Grieving Youth. From self-care for you and your kids to conversation-opening activities like, Bring Your Fears to Light and Calming Exercises, it’s a great activity book to add to your toolbox as we hunker down together as families.
Responding to the current chaos with care, concern, and love is the key to embracing the small moments of joy embedded in the forced pause that is our life right now. Try daily walks in nature with your loved ones, diving into arts and crafts with your kiddos, making cards to mail to local nursing homes, creating digital spaces to connect, ignite some laughter, and share stories, or have an impromptu photoshoot with one of your favorite mini-humans.
Sending love to all of you as we reimagine life and death. One day at a time. Together❤️
With love, Auntie L