Death Cafe NYC
As the host of Death Cafe NYC (Facebook) which meets on Zoom on the third Wednesday of each month from 5 to 6 PM EDST, I have had the wonderful opportunity to hear people discuss death and dying. Participants are free to speak openly about a topic that is rarely discussed anywhere else. Anxieties, fears, personal experiences, beliefs and more are discussed in a safe space. Personal autonomy and quality of life issues are often the topic as well as belief in an afterlife, and end of life planning. Participants often share books and videos they have found useful in coming to terms with death and dying. Every month, I write a summary of the meeting and post it on our Facebook page Death Cafe NYC.
A few years ago I was invited to be part of a panel by a non-profit called "Completed Life Initiative" (CLI). This organization is dedicated to providing support for people who wish to end their lives on their own terms. On this panel were also Death Doulas who explained their roles in providing their clients and their families with end-of-life services. CLI also screened a wonderful film called "Moon Manor" that depicted one man's choice of dying aided by a Death Doula.
Recently, a participant on Death Cafe NYC invited me to be in a documentary she is creating called "Solastalgia" which means the nostalgia, anxiety, stress, and worry of people living in degraded environments. I was invited to facilitate a live two hour Death Cafe. Prior to this, I was asked to write my answer on a tiny tombstone to the following question:
What will you miss the most about the natural world?
When I finished my answer, I placed it in a tiny cemetery with all the other tombstones people had placed there. This is a photo of the cemetery:
After the Death Cafe group, I was invited to lie in a shallow grave while they filmed me using a drone that flew straight up above me. I am expecting to see a preview of the documentary on August 17, 2024.