This piece names something many families feel but can’t quite articulate: death has been turned into a managed procedure instead of a human transition.
The system is excellent at intervention, billing, and protocol. It is far less equipped for meaning, presence, or honoring what a person actually wants at the end of life. That’s how people end up surrounded by machines instead of loved ones, receiving treatments they never chose.
The quiet counter-current is hospice and palliative care. When used well, they return the focus to comfort, clarity, family, and dignity—often at home, where the person belongs.
The real takeaway for me is simple: decide your values before the crisis. Write them down. Share them with your family. Make sure your care reflects your life.
I wish I, a retired hospital RN, could articulate my experiences with you and your readers about death and dying. Not only regarding those in my care at the hospital but family members including my young child. Protocol has many times needlessly interrupted the natural processes of dying. I spent years weeping on my long drive home because of many unnecessary medical interventions, especially when I was on the code team, which was not a voluntary position but built into the unit where I worked. I had a different attitude at the end of my career from the one I had at the beginning. Thank you for the article.
It is far better to find Christianity (God) way before you have to face death. The peace that will come to you is unbelievable! But as they say better late than never. Thank you For a well written article.
One should only fear death is they work for Pfizer et al. I grew up with the myth of the Hippocratic oath--because of the prevailing propaganda, I actually thought doctors believed in it. Do no harm. How naive! I was able, in all sincerity, to tell my mother, two days before she died, that she was the perfect mother. She laughed at me, but I explained that perfect and flawless are two different things, she did the absolute best with what she had. I have always been grateful for that opportunity.
Thanks. Great article. And for me quite timely as I hit my 80th birthday a couple of weeks ago. And the reality of death feels closer than ever. This provides me with a way to discuss what's important with the people who need to know my desires. A problem I've read about is the medical profession often pays no attention to desires like no venting. How do I assure this doesn't happen? I feel no one will be with me to prevent this when it's deemed necessary by some ER doc. Thanks again
You might look into an Advance Directive if you haven't already. Whether they are actually honored by this corrupt profession is another matter though.
Thank you. So true. Very well put. Harrington's book "At Peace" is very helpful to read and consider. It is a gift to your loved ones to have made decisions and preparations and shared with them. Otherwise they are left holding the bag at the most exhausting emotional time for all. Spiritual life is so very important but hard to get people to pay attention. But when it comes to children and horrible accidents, well, everything falls apart. Thank you for this.
One of the codes I witnessed early in the hospital phase of my career particularly had me wondering why it was taking place. Fortunately an older attending physician came in and stopped it. He then proceeded to lecture the team on the condition of the patient and the inappropriateness of the disturbing the patient’s exit with a full code. He was right. But people need to be aware that hospital staff often does not know the patient well and come running to a code full of adrenaline and a head full of protocols and procedures. Getting your general desires into the heads of your family and friends, and perhaps the “chart” is a way to avoid the full code. Use the avenue that you trust the most. If you fear being taken too soon just tell your family about organ donation desires.
Worst thing ever for patients was stopping the visitation. It is needed.
When Scott admitted that he had been wrong about the covid injections, he still didn't totally get it. He claimed that those of us who chose not to vaccinate did so because of our distrust of the government and industry. But that was not the case for most of us. We knew that we were not in any more danger of death than we were from any other respiratory illness (unless we went to the hospital, but that's another story). We also knew all of the potential problems with these shots, problems that were just waved away by the "experts". In other words, we had serious concerns based on medical science, not just a lucky hunch.
Like you said, "I know of multiple other instances where individuals who were long considered 'experts in propaganda' made the decision to get the COVID vaccine—something which I view as a testament to just how effectively the vaccine was marketed."
It seems like the study of just how that happened would have been right up Scott's alley if he had been willing to admit he had been duped rather than just "unlucky".
Thank you! Your thought provoking writing has touched on a topic I have strong opinions about due to my previous experiences with working in healthcare. I have started conversations with my family about my wishes, but need to educate myself on next steps…
People like animals know when they are ready to pass on. Regarding consciousness and our materialistic view of it: ask any person who has communicated with an animal or even an animal that has passed and they will call BS to those who say such things are not possible. Communication with an animal is telepathy, or heart centered communication.
The brain is a giant computer, but the real center of our existence and consciousness is the heart. We have been told over and over again that such communication is not possible or that we are talking to the devil. What better way of turning off our pineal gland and convincing our ego that we should not engage in such activities than to say it is not our dog with whom we are communicating, but the devil? Dogs are very spiritually attuned to the spirit realm and you only need to be a mediocre user of search engines to find numerous stories of animals using their intuition (spiritual communication) to do something those of us who think brain size makes us lesser gods, insist that the theory that the animal was using a sixth sense is not possible. That sense continues after death of the physical body. It is a shame that we medicalized death because to some people and all animals, death is a transition.
As a culture, we’ve been deprived of honoring our physical passage into the spiritual realm, and forced into the medical complex where the last few dollars can be wrung from our corpse. Death is not a failure of life, it’s a natural process that’s been hijacked from us.
This story sums it up. A friend lived with his parents, both in their 90s. The mother was healthy and functioning, even made a midday meal daily for the friend when he came home for lunch. One day at lunch she asked him to do a number of things when she died, and he laughed her off and said just make me a list so I don’t forget anything. When he got home after work, there was a list on the kitchen table, had done the dishes, laid out the dress she wanted on her bed and was peacefully dead in her armchair. She KNEW. The father, who was sitting in the same room said she told him to get a haircut before her funeral. He passed 13 days later.
The grieving experience of the remaining loved ones is also a tragic situation, both before and following.
I can't say I have coped well with either of those situations.
I was fortunate to spend the many years caring for my parents in their last 13 years of their lives. Daily. Mom lived to 93 daddy to 100. We spent a lot of time listening and loving.
To be present for death in that sense is a gift. I would hope all family situations could be that way.
My sister in law was out of town when a neighbor called the police for a wellness check on her husband. He was found dead on the floor in their house, and had been there for about 4 days. Tragic. That is tragic! He was not "ill". Anyway, stuff like that happens often, mainly as we are getting older.
There is so much hate bitterness and division these days, it just makes life, and death, very anxiety ridden for probably a lot of people. Most do not think about that fragility unless they believe in God, or have a sense of acceptance in every single persons purpose of being here!
This piece names something many families feel but can’t quite articulate: death has been turned into a managed procedure instead of a human transition.
The system is excellent at intervention, billing, and protocol. It is far less equipped for meaning, presence, or honoring what a person actually wants at the end of life. That’s how people end up surrounded by machines instead of loved ones, receiving treatments they never chose.
The quiet counter-current is hospice and palliative care. When used well, they return the focus to comfort, clarity, family, and dignity—often at home, where the person belongs.
The real takeaway for me is simple: decide your values before the crisis. Write them down. Share them with your family. Make sure your care reflects your life.
A human life deserves a human ending.
— Lone Wolf
I wish I, a retired hospital RN, could articulate my experiences with you and your readers about death and dying. Not only regarding those in my care at the hospital but family members including my young child. Protocol has many times needlessly interrupted the natural processes of dying. I spent years weeping on my long drive home because of many unnecessary medical interventions, especially when I was on the code team, which was not a voluntary position but built into the unit where I worked. I had a different attitude at the end of my career from the one I had at the beginning. Thank you for the article.
It is far better to find Christianity (God) way before you have to face death. The peace that will come to you is unbelievable! But as they say better late than never. Thank you For a well written article.
This is a very good article about an enduring and challenging topic
One should only fear death is they work for Pfizer et al. I grew up with the myth of the Hippocratic oath--because of the prevailing propaganda, I actually thought doctors believed in it. Do no harm. How naive! I was able, in all sincerity, to tell my mother, two days before she died, that she was the perfect mother. She laughed at me, but I explained that perfect and flawless are two different things, she did the absolute best with what she had. I have always been grateful for that opportunity.
Thanks. Great article. And for me quite timely as I hit my 80th birthday a couple of weeks ago. And the reality of death feels closer than ever. This provides me with a way to discuss what's important with the people who need to know my desires. A problem I've read about is the medical profession often pays no attention to desires like no venting. How do I assure this doesn't happen? I feel no one will be with me to prevent this when it's deemed necessary by some ER doc. Thanks again
You might look into an Advance Directive if you haven't already. Whether they are actually honored by this corrupt profession is another matter though.
Thanks. I have advanced directives but have that fear the medical profession will not honor. Can't figure out a way around this problem
That is the issue isn't it?
Thank you. So true. Very well put. Harrington's book "At Peace" is very helpful to read and consider. It is a gift to your loved ones to have made decisions and preparations and shared with them. Otherwise they are left holding the bag at the most exhausting emotional time for all. Spiritual life is so very important but hard to get people to pay attention. But when it comes to children and horrible accidents, well, everything falls apart. Thank you for this.
One of the codes I witnessed early in the hospital phase of my career particularly had me wondering why it was taking place. Fortunately an older attending physician came in and stopped it. He then proceeded to lecture the team on the condition of the patient and the inappropriateness of the disturbing the patient’s exit with a full code. He was right. But people need to be aware that hospital staff often does not know the patient well and come running to a code full of adrenaline and a head full of protocols and procedures. Getting your general desires into the heads of your family and friends, and perhaps the “chart” is a way to avoid the full code. Use the avenue that you trust the most. If you fear being taken too soon just tell your family about organ donation desires.
Worst thing ever for patients was stopping the visitation. It is needed.
When Scott admitted that he had been wrong about the covid injections, he still didn't totally get it. He claimed that those of us who chose not to vaccinate did so because of our distrust of the government and industry. But that was not the case for most of us. We knew that we were not in any more danger of death than we were from any other respiratory illness (unless we went to the hospital, but that's another story). We also knew all of the potential problems with these shots, problems that were just waved away by the "experts". In other words, we had serious concerns based on medical science, not just a lucky hunch.
Like you said, "I know of multiple other instances where individuals who were long considered 'experts in propaganda' made the decision to get the COVID vaccine—something which I view as a testament to just how effectively the vaccine was marketed."
It seems like the study of just how that happened would have been right up Scott's alley if he had been willing to admit he had been duped rather than just "unlucky".
Thank you! Your thought provoking writing has touched on a topic I have strong opinions about due to my previous experiences with working in healthcare. I have started conversations with my family about my wishes, but need to educate myself on next steps…
Thanks for doing these shorter versions. They help to ease into the in depth discussions.
I have heard a lot of good things about Scott Adams work. Any recommendation to start with?
Best guess would be his books, but other people here who followed him likely have better suggestions.
Start with "How to Fail at Almost Anything and Still Win Big" and go from there.
People like animals know when they are ready to pass on. Regarding consciousness and our materialistic view of it: ask any person who has communicated with an animal or even an animal that has passed and they will call BS to those who say such things are not possible. Communication with an animal is telepathy, or heart centered communication.
The brain is a giant computer, but the real center of our existence and consciousness is the heart. We have been told over and over again that such communication is not possible or that we are talking to the devil. What better way of turning off our pineal gland and convincing our ego that we should not engage in such activities than to say it is not our dog with whom we are communicating, but the devil? Dogs are very spiritually attuned to the spirit realm and you only need to be a mediocre user of search engines to find numerous stories of animals using their intuition (spiritual communication) to do something those of us who think brain size makes us lesser gods, insist that the theory that the animal was using a sixth sense is not possible. That sense continues after death of the physical body. It is a shame that we medicalized death because to some people and all animals, death is a transition.
As a culture, we’ve been deprived of honoring our physical passage into the spiritual realm, and forced into the medical complex where the last few dollars can be wrung from our corpse. Death is not a failure of life, it’s a natural process that’s been hijacked from us.
This story sums it up. A friend lived with his parents, both in their 90s. The mother was healthy and functioning, even made a midday meal daily for the friend when he came home for lunch. One day at lunch she asked him to do a number of things when she died, and he laughed her off and said just make me a list so I don’t forget anything. When he got home after work, there was a list on the kitchen table, had done the dishes, laid out the dress she wanted on her bed and was peacefully dead in her armchair. She KNEW. The father, who was sitting in the same room said she told him to get a haircut before her funeral. He passed 13 days later.
Thank you for such a lovely statement today.
Death is a touchy subject for many.
The grieving experience of the remaining loved ones is also a tragic situation, both before and following.
I can't say I have coped well with either of those situations.
I was fortunate to spend the many years caring for my parents in their last 13 years of their lives. Daily. Mom lived to 93 daddy to 100. We spent a lot of time listening and loving.
To be present for death in that sense is a gift. I would hope all family situations could be that way.
My sister in law was out of town when a neighbor called the police for a wellness check on her husband. He was found dead on the floor in their house, and had been there for about 4 days. Tragic. That is tragic! He was not "ill". Anyway, stuff like that happens often, mainly as we are getting older.
There is so much hate bitterness and division these days, it just makes life, and death, very anxiety ridden for probably a lot of people. Most do not think about that fragility unless they believe in God, or have a sense of acceptance in every single persons purpose of being here!
Is Joel Pollak involved in writing this page somehow?