I want to Be a Compassionate Companion

There is a moment when we realize that we are about to become a companion of someone who is facing death. Maybe we come to this experience as part of our professional or volunteer commitment. More commonly its arrives when a friend or family member shares the news of a terminal diagnosis. Or, the realization may arise still earlier when we see an elderly parent or partner stumble on a curb or over their words. Perhaps it is a conscious choice. Maybe we feel we have no choice.

It’s important in the beginning to understand that we already know how to do this. It’s in our bones. We have extended a helping hand hundreds of times in a thousand meaningful and loving ways. Caring is a natural expression of who we are… of our humanity.

Thirty years ago, at the height of the American AIDS epidemic, Frank Ostaseski cofounded America’s first Buddhist hospice–the Zen Hospice Project in San

Caregiving from a Buddhist perspective is a recognition that this person’s suffering is also my suffering. When I see that, whether I’m the person in the

For years, I’ve worked with people who are dying. Some of these people are very tough. They may have been living on the streets for a long time. They may be

When we are caring for someone who is sick, we lend them our body. We use the strength of our arms to move them from the bed to the commode, and we can also

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Self-Care for Caregivers - Frank Ostaseski, Founder Metta Institute

Brené Brown on Empathy

What is the best way to ease someone's pain and suffering?

Compassionate Service

Compassionate Service requires an attunement to the suffering of others.

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THE FIVE INVITATIONS

Discovering What Death
Can Teach Us About Living Fully

Death is not waiting for us at the end of a long road. Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment. She is the secret teacher hiding in plain sight, helping us to discover what matters most.

Life and death are a package deal. They cannot be pulled apart and we cannot truly live unless we are aware of death. The Five Invitations is an exhilarating meditation on the meaning of life and how maintaining an ever-present consciousness of death can bring us closer to our truest selves.

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