Even if their lives were nine decades long, the elders saw life as too short to waste on pessimism, boredom and disillusionment.
Dr. Ira Byock is a leading figure in palliative and hospice care. From his place on this medical frontier, he reflects on mortality as a human, not a medical, event. Even as we fight to prolong life, he says, we can understand dying as a time of learning, repair, and completion of our lives. Krista Tippet
What if we understand death as a developmental stage — like adolescence or mid-life? Dr. Ira Byock is a leading figure in palliative care and hospice in the United States. He says we lose sight of "the remarkable value" of the time of life we call dying if we forget that it's always a personal and human event, and not just a medical one. From his place on this medical frontier, he shares how we can understand dying as a time of learning, repair, and completion of our lives.
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Facing Death:
Choosing Quality of Life Over Aggressive Treatment
Choosing Quality of Life Over Aggressive Treatment
Amy Berman
Amy Berman found out 18 months ago that she had stage IV inflammatory breast cancer and it had spread to her spine. She was 51 years old. A visit to an oncologist confirmed what she already knew: there was no cure. She then saw a specialist. He advised intensive chemotherapy, radiation, a mastectomy and then more chemotherapy. Amy Berman has had a long career in health care. She knew that many patients spend their final months suffering from the effects of aggressive medical treatment. She also knew she had another option - palliative care. Diane will talk with Berman and a palliative care expert about quality-of-life choices for people with terminal illnesses.
To some, Rumi's poetry is best heard aloud; to others, Rumi's words should be experienced in silent reading. Here, we present the text of seven poems and readings of those poems in Persian and in English, with male and female voices.
Read the poem |
When His light shines — without a veil
neither the sky remains nor the earth
not the sun
nor the moon.
God embraces all
there is nothing that is not a part of him already.
Remember God!
His remembrance is the strength in the wings of the bird that is your soul
The souls of all friends of God are connected with one another
You must seek anything that you wish to find
Not so with the Friend…
You begin to seek after you find him
neither the sky remains nor the earth
not the sun
nor the moon.
God embraces all
there is nothing that is not a part of him already.
Remember God!
His remembrance is the strength in the wings of the bird that is your soul
The souls of all friends of God are connected with one another
You must seek anything that you wish to find
Not so with the Friend…
You begin to seek after you find him
RUMI
Faith & Ecstatic Poetry