Death and dying

Self-knowledge and personal growth Relationships, work and leisure Values and ethical living

Photo of an elderly man sitting on a chair surrounded by various ornate coffins in a room with a chequered floor.

Death and dying

idea

As a society, we’re not death phobic, we’re death complacent

Our culture is routinely diagnosed with an excessive fear of mortality. A calm look at the evidence tells a different story

by Ingemar Patrick Linden

A woman in sunlight with eyes closed, wearing a pink top sitting by a shadowy wall and green plant.

Death and dying

idea

It’s not foolish to foster hope in the face of illness and death

As a great loss loomed, I feared straying too far from the hard truth. But I learned to distinguish denial from hope

by Christiana Boules

A skull adorned with colourful flowers, a butterfly, musical notes, a candle, and a bone set against a soft background.

Anxiety

guide

How to get more comfortable with death

Angst about mortality is part of being human, but if it’s interfering with your life, there are proven ways to dial it down

by Rachel Menzies

A child’s drawing of a person in front of a red door, playing a pink electric guitar with lightning bolts around them.

Parenting and families

film

Ethan ponders his daughter’s future without him in this celebrated short

Directed by Ethan Barrett

Man relaxing on a striped lounge chair with hands behind his head, outside on a lawn, flanked by other coloured chairs and an opened beer bottle nearby.

Grief

idea

Why do so many of us blame ourselves after a loved one’s death?

After losing my father, I felt the guilt and regret that burden many other bereaved people – and found a way to carry them

by Delaney Rebernik

Shattered glass fragments scattered on a grey surface with a blurred background. Some pieces are mid-air, capturing the moment of a glass object crashing and breaking. The image portrays motion and impact.

Grief

idea

Grief is not a process with five stages. It is shattered glass

The five stages describe a grief that’s knowable and controlled. An accident in my kitchen helped me find a truer metaphor

by Joshua Thomas

A painting of a man sitting at a table with his head resting on his hand, looking at a skull placed on books. A curtain is in the background.

Death and dying

guide

How to not fear your death

You exist, but one day you won’t. An Epicurean perspective can help you feel less afraid, and even grateful for life’s finitude

by Sam Dresser

Painting of an outdoor community gathering, with people dancing and playing music near a house with a thatched roof. Many onlookers are seated.

Rituals and celebrations

film

Come on this painterly journey to Madagascar’s ‘turning of the dead’

Directed by Bastien Dubois

People walking on a city street bathed in sunlight, with American flags hanging on buildings in the background. Shadows are cast on the pavement, and tall buildings line the street, creating a dramatic, contrasting light and shadow effect.

Death and dying

idea

Why so many of us see our loved ones after they have died

These experiences – which are more of an illusion than a hallucination – can be a healthy part of the grieving process

by Shayla Love

Two traditional-style pagodas in a grassy field under a blue sky with scattered clouds, with mist and mountains in the background.

Rituals and celebrations

idea

Together forever: ‘at-home burial’ in southern Vietnam

What might a traveller along the Mekong Delta learn about the beliefs and traditions behind the country’s elevated tombs?

by Gina Elia

Crowded riverbank with numerous people in boats and on the ghats at dusk, celebrating a festival, lights in the background.

Death and dying

film

At India’s ‘death hotels’, devout Hindus seek liberation from cycles of rebirth

Directed by Dan Braga Ulvestad