Let’s talk about death and dying

Let's also talk about Community of Practice!

“Not one person is across all of it.”

A comment made in a recent discussion I had with Gillian Hall, Community Lead of Funerals Sunshine Coast and Regions Queensland.

The comment resonated with me.?I’ve been talking to Gillian over the past few months since starting to offer my services in the end of life space.

Gillian is passionate about the value of a community development approach to effective community work and believes, as I do, that there needs to be an interdisciplinary approach to building community capacity.

Another term she used was community of practice.?Again, another comment that resonated with me.?What exactly does a community of practice actually mean??I had to look it up to be sure I wasn’t misinterpreting the conversation and heading down my own little ‘yellow brick road’.

What actually is a community of practice and how do you create one??Well, again thanks to Dr Google, I found an article that could better describe it than I could:

“A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or an interest in a topic and who come tother the fulfill both individual and group goals.”

What could be more succinct than that??Seems simple on paper doesn’t it??..and yet, often so hard to implement in practice, especially when you are trying to challenge the status quo as Gillian has.

I have joined Gillian’s Community of Practice.?She and I are both passionate about death and dying and passionate about making the topic of dying as something to talk about…often…less stressful and for sure and certain, far less taboo than it has been in the past.

You won’t ‘jinx yourself’ by talking about it.?You won’t die any sooner than you would have.?But talking about it, planning for it, ensuring your wishes have been communicated to your loved ones, capturing the essence of you in stories before you die, planning for your funeral early…even decades early…will make the process of dying a whole lot easier on not only your loved ones, but also for the health workers who will be taking care of you when the time comes.

“Embracing our mortality and communicating our end-of-life wishes can be a liberating lifestyle choice with immeasurable benefits. It allows us to prioritise our values, explore spiritual care, and live until the end with wisdom and peace of mind.” ?

Wise words Gillian.

It's Advance Care Planning Week this week (20-26th March).?Let’s start the discussion today!?