This morning a posted a wonderful short film of Lord Philip Gould sharing his thoughts about his approaching death during the final weeks of his life.
I participate in Google+ where I have been excited and stimulated by things that are shared, the great conversations and connections I make.
My post on Philip Gould encouraged +Chris Holly to point me in the direction of a film called Griefwalker.
This documentary introduces us to Stephen Jenkinson, the leader of a palliative care counselling team at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital. Through his daytime job, he has been at the deathbed of well over 1,000 people. What he sees over and over, he says, is “a wretched anxiety and an existential terror” even when there is no pain. Indicting the practice of palliative care itself, he has made it his life’s mission to change the way we die – to turn the act of dying from denial and resistance into an essential part of life.
This is a thought provoking documentary on a charismatic spiritual man. It will take several viewings to fully absorb the nuances of the film. There is the powerful recounting of Stephens encounter with parents whose daughter is dying, and how he helped guide them to accept and experience her death in a non-clinical and real way. It was very moving.
Take the time to watch this film I think you’ll find it worth it.
