Activity 2: A Good Death
Part of Facing Death with Life
Activity time: 20 minutes
Share this quote from “Good Life, Good Death” by Laine Bergeson:
Humans are gifted with the ability to contemplate their own demise, and this weird blessing infuses every moment of life with the inevitability of death. That said, we're remarkably good at making our date with death seem so far away we doubt we'll have to keep it. If an event pierces our defenses and makes our mortality vivid, we quickly return to living as we usually live, as if the odds against death are stacked in our favor.
Post the questions you have written on newsprint. Invite participants to move into groups of three. Ask them to each respond to the posted questions while others listen with the ear of the heart. Allow five minutes for each person to speak, and use a chime or bell to signal time to move to the next speaker.
Regather the large group and ask, “How did it feel to tell your story and talk about a good death?”