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Arlene Hoag, a hospice volunteer and co-chairman of the Mountains of Courage conference, shares her experiences and insights on death and dying.

She discusses her early encounters with death, the grief she experienced when a friend passed away, and the importance of communicating with loved ones who have passed.

Arlene also emphasizes the significance of supporting grieving individuals and caring for loved ones with dementia. She shares how a class at a spiritual community camp and a gravestone exercise influenced her perspective on death.

Arlene concludes by discussing her work as a hospice volunteer and her challenges in promoting conversations about death and dying.

In this conversation, Arlene Hoag discusses various aspects of end-of-life care and the importance of community and connection during this time. She shares personal stories and reflections on death, as well as practices for self-resourcefulness.

Arlene also introduces the concept of home funerals and the value of allowing time for grieving.

She mentioned this book - Please Be Patient, I'm Grieving, by Gary Roe, and The Living/Dying Project, as well as a movie they made at the Living/Dying project called Dying Into Love.

At the end she shared this poem by the Sufi mystic, Hafiz called “There is a game we should play.”

There is a wonderful game we should play,
and it goes like this:

We hold hands and look into each other's eyes
and scan each other's face.

Then I say, "Tell me a difference
you see between us. "

And you might respond, "Hafiz, your nose
is ten times bigger than mine!"

Then I would say, "Yes, my dear, almost
ten times!"

But let's keep playing.
Let's go deeper, go deeper.

For if we do, our spirits will embrace
and interweave,

our union will be so glorious
that even God will not be able to tell us apart.

This would be a wonderful game to play.