Prepare for a good end of life

Judy MacDonald Johnston gave a great TED talk on preparing for a good end of life. Here's a link to additional reading on the subject of Johnston's talk. And here's her talk:

The nature of life and time as captured in the "Up" and "Before" series

Brett McCracken writes an insightful piece for Mere Orthodoxy on the new movies in the "Before" series and the "Up" series.

If you're not familiar, the "Before" trilogy follows a love story in three films spaced nine years apart that feature the same two actors. We watch these actors age, starting when they meet and fall in love in 1994's Before Sunrise, reunite in Paris is 2003's Before Sunset and negotiate their marriage and lives as the parents of twins in 2013's Before Midnight.

The "Up" series -- which the late Roger Ebert called "the noblest project in cinema history" -- also takes us on a real journey through time. The documentary series began with 7 Up in 1964 and follows fourteen 7-year-old children from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in 1960s Britain. A new documentary has come out every seven years since -- the most recent is 56 Up. 

These movies provide an unusual and revealing look into the nature of life and time. (See also Harry Potter series.)

My Last Days: Meet Zach Sobiech

Ask a funeral director

Here is a link to a wonderful interview on Rachel Held Evans' blog, from her "Ask a...." series. It's an interview with Caleb Wilde, a sixth generation Funeral Director who has some very wise things to say about death, grief, and faith.

Writer George Saunders describes his brush with death and what it taught him....

Genius writer George Saunders, author of the new book of stories "Tenth of December", talked to the New York Times about his brush with death in an airplane near-crash and how it affected him:

"For three or four days after that it was the most beautiful world. To have gotten back in it, you know? And I thought, If you could walk around like that all the time, to really have that awareness that it's actually going to end. That's the trick."

Read the full article here.

A dying nurse offers herself as instruction in caring

This amazing story from the New York Times describes how a nurse lived every moment of her life with purpose, right up to the end, by teaching nursing students about dying. Click here to read the story.

Life lessons

Here's a wonderful column, by Regina Brett of the Plain Dealer, called Regina Brett's 45 life lessons and five to grow on.