Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1173846
sickroom with lavender, rosemary, and rose are good examples of old rituals that can be re-imagined and find a new place in our lives. How we honor and care for our dying and deceased loved ones might have changed over the last few thousand years but our need to mark the significance has not. It is a privilege to be with people at a time when emotions are so tender and many of us feel lost. Death is unfamiliar territory for most of us and our internal GPS isn't programmed to navigate the landscape anymore. We try navigating by old family, cultural, or religious maps but too often we are left feeling that something is missing. Ritual has been part of our human experience since we first gathered around fires. Large and ancient, like the celebrations we see for Day of the Dead and All Soul's Day, or small and reimagined, like the use of essential oil in the anointing story above, rituals have a way of making us present for the special qualities of a moment and support us through major life events. They allow us to elevate our experiences by creating meaning, making fleeting moments sacred, and easing our pain. I believe the acceptance of death as a part of life can transform our cultural narrative, enrich our personal relationships, and strengthen our connection to nature, spirit, and each other. For the woman who helped anoint her friend, ritual enabled her to integrate her friend's death and bring love and beauty to a heartbreaking and possibly life-changing moment. So while Day of the Dead, or All Soul's Day, may or may not be your ritual, I invite you to think about what ritual you could choose or create to honor and remember the people you love who came before you. Birgitta Kastenbaum is an essential oil educator, modern medicine woman, and community gatherer. As an intuitive life coach, end of life guide, and death doula, she helps people weave the fabric of their lives in ways that are meaningful and healing. She believes in empowering, educating, and supporting each person as they find their own authentic way of living and dying for "living life fully happens when we hold death near." To learn more, call 310-699-7591 or visit www.BridgingTransitions.net. Painting by David Young October/November 2019 19 Ritual has been part of our human experience since we first gathered around fires.