death

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.

NFB

+Chris Holly

When I Die : Lessons from the Death Zone


You must watch this.
In “When I Die” Philip Gould shares his thoughts and insights as he confronts his impending death from oesophageal cancer. How do we approach death whilst embracing life? How can we change the conversation around death and palliative care for the terminally ill? Please share this film and join the conversation #WhenIDie. Philip believed that for the terminally ill and those close to them, there can be moments of joy, resolution and inspiration just as intense as those of fear, discomfort and sadness.

Filmed during the last 2 weeks of Philip’s life, this intimate portrait reveals his quest to find purpose and meaning in what he called “The Death Zone”. He had been diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in 2008 and was given three months to live in the summer of 2011.

Philip Gould’s book, “When I Die: Lessons from the Death Zone” is published in the UK by Little Brown. Proceeds from the book will go to the National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Fund (donations to http://www.justgiving.com/nogcf ) and the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity (donations to http://www.royalmarsden.org/philipgould )

DIRECTOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER : Adrian Steirn EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Matthew Freud & Elisabeth Murdoch PRODUCER: Nicola Howson ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Harriet Pratten DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Damon Hyland VIDEO EDITOR: Benjamin Haskins CINEMATOGROPHY: Richard Gregory, Oran O’Reilly, James Suter COLOUR: Leon Visser GRAPHICS: Zee Muller BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTOGRAPHY: Gary Van Wyk SCREENWRITER: Andy Ellis PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Emily Forbes

hat tip;) Stuart Witts

Watching TV Linked to Higher Risk of Death

O.K.do you give up… now…If you’re reading this sitting down, you might consider standing up. Ron Winslow in the Wall Street Journal takes provocative look at the impact of sedentary behavior on health, in lieu of a new study that  links time watching television to an increased risk of death. One of the most surprising findings is that it isn’t just couch potatoes who were affected—even for people who exercised regularly, the risk of death went up the longer they were in front of the TV. The problem was the prolonged periods of time spent sitting still. continue reading

Source: Wall Street Journal