“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
I am a hospice chaplain.
I provide spiritual care to the dying and their families.
I do this by being present with them. I listen to their fears, worries, joys, concerns, and regrets. I listen carefully to what is said, and attend thoughtfully to what is not said.
When people find out what I do for a living, the reaction is almost universal: “Wow, that must be hard. I could never do it.”
I totally get it. In fact, years before doing this work, I remember reacting to a hospice volunteer in a very similar way. I was terrified of death. I didn’t like thinking about it or talking about it. I certainly never thought I’d spend my days comforting the dying.
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