Being with Dying

We live in a society that encourages open discussion about just about anything. People post intimate details of their lives online. Mainstream media openly discusses sex, murder, BDSM, war, and the unseemly lives of many politicians. The one thing we are not comfortable discussing, or even admitting, is our dying. Most of us only face the fact that we will die when the actual event, or something dire that precipitates death, is upon us. Joan Halifax has spent much of her adult life working with the dying and contemplating death. The author discusses this with openness and compassion in this unique book. As she is a Buddhist monk there are many exercises in meditation and contemplation meant to get readers more comfortable facing their mortality. There are enough options that there is something for everyone. I found several meditations that were at my level of mindfulness ability and matched well with my personal style of meditation. Halifax also writes about her own experiences with the loss of loved ones and discusses how those experiences helped or hindered her ability to face her own mortality. This book clearly explains why it is important for us to stay more actively aware of our own mortality and it does a good job of helping readers to start doing so. If you like meditation and Buddhism, this writing will especially resonate with you.