In the Northern Hemisphere, the days are lengthening, and the earth is stirring from winter's darkness. Can you feel it, too? I am reminded that every ending carries the seed of new beginnings. Just as nature teaches us the rhythm of death and rebirth, the conversations we have about the end of life can open the door to something unexpectedly alive—a deeper connection, a sense of peace, even a renewed way of living. When we dare to speak about what matters most, we plant seeds of understanding and love that can grow beyond our time into an unexpected legacy.
The spring equinox (March 20th, 2025) is a moment of balance, a turning point. What if we approached our end-of-life conversations in the same way—not as something to fear but as a natural part of our journey? These conversations aren't just about planning for the inevitable; they're about embracing the fullness of life, clarifying what's meaningful, and creating space for healing. Like the first green shoots pushing through the soil, something new emerges when we face what we often avoid.
I love the reminder of these simple questions:
What matters most to you?
How would you want to be remembered?
Have you ever witnessed a "good" death? What made it that way?
So as the world awakens around us, let's invite renewal into our lives—not just in the earth beneath our feet, but in the way we connect with one another. What seeds of conversation will you plant this season?
With love,
Rachel
Spring Letter from the South
By Keetje Kuipers
Mother, it's like summer here. I miss the way the mountains get cold at night, draw their shoulders up. In the evenings we walk through the old neighborhoods, past the frayed houses where magnolias collapse their heavy bosoms against each roof's pitched elbows. Everything the baby does — proclaiming song-words to the birds, commanding trees to hold still or spill their guts — is magic I haven't given up on yet. That pollen-rot smell is starting again: one year later and it's like a year hasn't passed. When she sleeps pressed against me, we still feel so young — all of us. Even the cemetery is beautiful this time of year. Do you remember when you were here? It's like that.
Let's Learn!
Befriending Death
Course Dates: April 16 - June 4, 2025
An 8-week course that explores befriending death as a key to a meaningful life. Engage in LIVE Zoom sessions, experiential practices, and reflective exercises to reshape your view of mortality with curiosity, courage, and awareness.
Embark on a transformative journey to become an end-of-life doula, embracing death as a sacred part of life. Gain skills in end-of-life coaching, bedside support, and community sharing using the North Star Tool. Our curriculum includes rituals, bereavement, vigils, after-death care, and professional growth.
This exploration dives into the transformative potential of sacred plant medicine in supporting those entering the end-of-life journey, as well as their loved ones.
Don't miss this important opportunity to safely explore the tender topic of pediatric death and learn how to hold space for children and their families at the end of life.
Join us for these complementary monthly gatherings where we will tend the hard parts of our personal and collective grief through the soft expression of intentional space, guiding invocations, imaginal activities and tender closings.
Healing Heights is a trauma-informed healing justice training that centers storytelling and features active healing practices. They have developed programming for parents who have experienced the loss of a child due to
violence which include SIDS, suicide by gun, homicide by gun, fatal car accidents, strokes, heart attacks and house fires. This programming is our infamous Healing Heights Griot training and it features other healing justice practitioners.