Author Archives: Jenna Brownson

Even though the seasons are changing, and we enter into this time of rest, it is also a time of seasonal death. And yet, there exists a timelessness within this circle of life. The berries on this wintergreen are the promise of future life; they are the legacy of the plant itself. In working withContinue reading “The Promise of Legacy”

It is necessary to meditate early, and often, on the art of dying to succeed later in doing it properly just once. Umberto Eco Imagine spending dedicated time actually meditating–both early and often–on the act of dying? That notion, on its face, seems like an exercise in fear and pessimism. Why would anyone take momentsContinue reading “Meditating on Death”

The only thing in life that we can be certain of is that all things are impermanent. Nothing ever stays exactly the same. The mere passage of time mandates that the world is in constant flux. While this ever-changing view of reality can be liberating, the inability to predict the future can be unsettling. WhenContinue reading “Seasons of Change”

Every autumn, in places where the leave change color, people go out into nature to experience the beauty of the season. Few would say that they had ever considered the changing of summer into fall as a death. The brilliant colors of red, orange, and yellow brighten the landscape even though imminent death is theContinue reading “Beauty in Death”

It is autumn in New England. While thousands flock to this place in the world to see the colors of the fall, foliage is merely a display of death. And I’m not sure that most regard it that way. The reds and oranges of maples, the yellows of elm and birch, even the tawny brownsContinue reading “Change of Seasons”

Have we considered what we want our lives to look like right up to our last breath? Do we know how our loved ones would respond to the same question? As an End-of-Life Doula, I am comfortable with death and dying, as I recognize that all of us will face this eventuality ourselves. In beingContinue reading “Considerations”

When looking at something as simple as a mushroom cap, it is easy to awestruck by the beauty contained in nature. The shades of purple and the white markings, which evoke the patterns on a beach-trapped sand dollar, remind us of the variations found in the natural world. Death comes in variations as well. WhenContinue reading “Circles of Existence”

I’ve always been fascinated by things that grow in places where it seems nothing can sustain life. This is especially so in the woods behind my house, where, in damp and shady places, plants and fungi make their appearances by sprouting up through the previous autumn’s rotting, fallen leaves. Ghost pipe fungi are one ofContinue reading “Ghost Pipe Evokes Death”

It is hard for many people to imagine their body as a living thing that will some day cease to live. From our earliest memories, most of us can recall the thrill of swinging a little too high, the dizziness from spinning in circles, the exhaustion of a foot race. We are, in so manyContinue reading “The Mortal Body”

So much of our lives are divided by time demarcations. The starts and stops of events and accomplishments are mile posts along the path we each take. Our epochs help us to comprehend our human lives and provide a temporal context in which we orgaize our stories about them. Think about the telling of yourContinue reading “Beginnings and Endings”