I recently read the excellent book Enjoy Every Sandwich:  Living Each Day As If It Were Your Last by Lee Lipsenthal, MD.  Lee was a doctor, diagnosed with esophagal cancer, who proceeded to write a book about what he was learning in the process of facing his mortality.  What makes the book especially poignant, is that the author died just 6 weeks before the book was published.

One perspective that I found especially helpful was turning the idea of a bucket list on its head.  So many of us hold a mental check list, popularized by media such as The Bucket List film (starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson) and the “Places to see before you die . . . ” book series.  But Lee pointed out, upon facing his own death, that it really didn’t matter whether he had seen the Pyramids in Egypt or eaten Thai food in Thailand.

The only thing that really mattered to him was loving and being loved.  Period.  I suppose a life could be measured by accumulated vacations — and certainly, those experiences can be wonderful.  But at the end of the day (or the end of a life) love is all that really matters.  Have you put ‘love’ on your bucket list?

Expcerpted from the Newsletter,

 “Still Waters:  Tools and Resources for Living Deeply”

Ashley Davis Bush, LCSW is the author of

“Shortcuts to Inner Peace: 70 Paths to Everyday Serenity”

and

 “Transcending Loss:  Understanding the Lifelong Impact of Grief and How to Make it Meaningful”

My first born child, my oldest daughter, is graduating from high school this month.  Thirty years ago, I also crossed a stage, mortarboard on my head, and reached for my high school diploma.  I bear witness to the cycle of life.

Although I happily leave much of high school behind me, one aspect that I particularly enjoyed was hanging out with my friends and having what we called ‘deep’ conversations.  The discussions felt deep when we talked about what is ‘underneath’ the surface of day to day living.

I liked ‘going deep’ so much that I became a psychotherapist, grief counselor, and writer — all avenues of helping people live and love more deeply.  I companion people as they go below the surface of their lives, pointing to the buoyancy, balance and calm that already exist within them.

When we allow ourselves to live deeply, we savor our inner connection to love and joy and begin to cherish each step along our unique paths.  Even as we take our final steps, even as we ‘graduate’ to whatever comes next, we can savor the calm and vibrancy of life that comes with living deeply.

Expcerpted from the Newsletter,

 “Still Waters:  Tools and Resources for Living Deeply”

Ashley Davis Bush, LCSW is the author of

 “Transcending Loss:  Understanding the Lifelong Impact of Grief and How to Make it Meaningful”

 To order a copy Click Here

I recently heard of a friend’s mother’s dying process.  “It’s just awful,” my friend said, “they’ve got hospice in the house and she’s just got a few days left.”  Meanwhile, I learned that this elderly woman is surrounded by her husband, children, and grandchildren, all of whom have had an opportunity to share their love. (more…)

Last week, I attended a social media workshop at a writer’s conference.  As the twenty-something speaker emphasized the necessity of an on-line presence, an old codger (and I use this word reverentially) raised his hand.  “What if you’re too old to catch that train?” (more…)

My creative energies have been directed toward a lecture that I’m giving this week in South Carolina.  So I’m leaving you with one of my first blogs, but one that many of my readers have found touching . . . 

Harold is waiting to die.  There were six of us at his bedside in the county nursing home, leaning toward him singing softly, “Amazing grace . . . how sweet the sound . . . “  Tears in his eyes, he shook each of our hands saying, “Thank you, you don’t know how much that meant to me.”  Little did he know how much it had meant to us . . . ..how much he meant to me. (more…)