Video from KarmaTube

In this Nic Askew interview, Julio Olalla, life coach and transformation agent, speaks about saying thank you to life. Gratitude is indeed a powerful force in healing and  well-being. Keeping a gratitude journal can strengthen your immune system and create a happier you.

What are you thankful for today?

A recent New York Times article speaks of the gift of organ donation and the  lives saved by Julio Garcia, who died of a brain hemorrhage in March 2010.  His body parts live on in seven or eight donor recipients who are living better now because of Mr Garcia’s gift.

What are your ideas about organ donation?  How much do you know about saving lives through this gift. You can find out more at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website.

Planning Your Eulogy

Wall Street Journalist Katherine Rosman points out a trend in eulogies towards humor. While chuckles and grins don’t fit every person or situation, humorous anecdotes in a eulogy can bring the deceased back to life with a warm glow in the hearts of mourners. In that regard, Graham Chapman’s memorial is certainly exceptional.

What would you like said for your eulogy? One funeral director, having witnessed hundreds of eulogies over the years, has pre-recorded his own funeral to avoid unpleasant surprises from family members and friends who might take his funeral ceremony too lightly.

That’s taking planning to the extreme, but by making basic plans for  your final arrangements, you can save your family a great deal of stress and get in a few last words and, if you wish, a few last laughs too.

Each day I make sure to check out the obituaries. They often inspire me to consider the depth of human joy and suffering we each experience over a lifetime. Take the obituary of Theodora Quinby Gauder, a woman who lived past ninety and grew an organic garden way before it became trendy.

I didn’t know Theodora, but it’s clear she cared for others, both as a nurse and as a friend. Her positive attitude shines through in her obituary.  As a member of the Secret Society of Happy People, Theodora encouraged herself and others to celebrate the joy in each day.

Obituaries can be great sources of knowledge. Turns out Theodora was a self-described “immortalist.” I didn’t know what that was, so I looked it up and found that immortalists believe in the immortality of the soul. Those who believe in life extension through cyronics, the deep-freezing of human bodies at death to preserve and revive them in the future, also call themselves immortalists.

Theodora was not that kind of immortalist. As a health professional, she understood how she could help extend the life of others. She donated her body to the University of California, San Francisco.

No matter what you believe about organ donation, about cyronics, about life after death, it’s important to put your beliefs and choices into your end-of-life plans. That way, as Theodora did, you can leave life the way you lived it, aligned with your beliefs and values.

Westerners live in a culture that denies death and dying. Cultural customs that acknowledge and embrace death as a part of life can seem strange to us. The  Famadihana celebrated by the people of Madagascar is an example.

Every five to seven years, based on an astrologer’s calculations, families honor their deceased ancestors by digging up their bones and dancing with them. They believe that the line between the living and the dead  is fluid and permeable and that these rites make their ancestors happy.

It’s not likely that Westerners will dig up and dance with the dead any time soon. However, we may become more open to the idea that death is a natural part of life and therefore prepare for it as we do other rites of passage such as marriage and retirement.

Members of the Navajo Nation share a culture that makes death a taboo subject. A recent New York Times article describes how this poem, written in Navajo and English, has helped start the discussion with Navajo elders about advance directives and wills.

Fear of death stops many people from putting the plans in place for end-of-life that could help themselves and their loved ones in a time of crisis. Although the overwhelming majority of Americans want to die in the comfort their home rather than in an impersonal hospital setting, only 30% of them have completed an advance directive specifying the care they wish to receive if they are unable to speak for themselves.

If you haven’t completed your end-of-life plans, what will it take to get your started?

A recent blog post at the Harvard Health Publications site spells out how end of life planning can increase communication among family members and make it easier to leave without unfinished business. Authors Barbara Okun and Joseph Nowinski encourage families to share their feelings about end of life so wishes are known and understood in advance of a crisis.

Talking with family and loved ones about end of life and dying can be daunting, but it’s better done in advance to avoid trauma and conflict.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Administration on Aging

Just days after a new rule came into effect that would pay physicians to hold elective consultations annually with patients on their wishes for end of life care, the Obama administration reversed itself and said it would remove the regulation. Sadly, end of life planning has become a political hot button, with opponents claiming that  such planning leads to ‘death panels’ and medical care rationing.

The political brouhaha over this issue masks the fact that everyone, particularly aging seniors, can benefit from advance care planning. According to an article by Emily P. Walker in MedPage Today:

“Recent studies on advance directives have shown that planning improved the likelihood that a patient’s wishes would be followed and reduced emotional trauma among family members.

In one study, patients who documented their wishes for only limited care or comfort care received it in 83.2% and 97.1% of cases, respectively, according to Maria J. Silveira, MD, MPH, of the VA Center for Clinical Management Research and University of Michigan, both in Ann Arbor, and colleagues who interviewed patients’ healthcare proxies.

The few who requested all possible care didn’t always get it (five of 10) but were much more likely to get aggressive care than those who didn’t request all care possible, Silveira’s group reported.

In another study, hospitalized patients older than 80 who were formally assisted with documenting their end-of-life treatment wishes and with designating a surrogate were almost three times more likely to have those wishes followed (86% versus 30% in usual care, P<0.001).”

Putting plans in place for advance care can help you receive the care you want. Talking about your wishes and needs with your physician and family members helps avoid emotional trauma and unwanted treatment. If you haven’t created an advance directive, now is the time.

Carla Zilbersmith, a singer, solo performer and humorist, who died at 47 from a degenerative disorder called amyotropic lateral sclerosis, laughed in the face of death. She wrote her own obituary in which she guaranteed the memorial “to be the funniest funeral that you have ever attended or your flowers back. Costumes encouraged but optional.”

Carla’s courage and determination to live life with joy despite increasing physical decline inspired the award-winning film “Leave Them Laughing,” a Musical Comedy About Dying.

Unable to deny the ravages of her disease, Carla made a conscious choice to face death with love and humor. Her life and work remain a gift to those left behind.

Emergencies can occur without a moment’s notice. The Vial of Life saves lives by providing vital information needed by emergency responders to give care. By preparing a Vial of Life for yourself and loved ones, you go a long way to ensuring that health needs will not be overlooked.

A Vial of Life is one component of advance planning that can make the difference between life and death.