Not long ago, fathers-to-be were kept outside of the birthing room. Mothers-to-be were not informed of the details of their own pregnancy. The birthing process was highly medicalized and families had little say about the procession of The Big Event. Progress was made when hospitals, in response to patient demand, made efforts to make the environment more homelike, and the experience of a new life came to include family in a variety of settings.

 

Similarly, the process of dying is too often one of isolation and fear. Open, honest, and informed conversations about this natural process are hard to find. While dying is a difficult emotional experience, meaning and resolution can also be present. The emergence of "end of life specialists" is a significant part of the effort to make dying something we can talk about as a shared human experience that, while not always welcome, can nevertheless include meaningful connections with those we love.

 

Our sun and moon are both ordinary and extraordinary, as is our own living experience. We are connected, large and small, to the passage of time and the changes that it brings, for each day and every life.