June 9, 2019
Friends,
Summer is upon us! This year the summer solstice—the longest period of daylight in the northern hemisphere—is on June 21st. With about 15 hours of sunlight here in DC, the solstice marks the official beginning of summer.
It's not extra time, but it is more sunlight than usual.
In our conversations about death, we sometimes talk about the concept of time (a huge and endless topic, I know).
Here's how time relates to life and death:
Our time here is finite. How does maintaining
an awareness of death inform how we live?
We don't know when we will die. We don't know how
much time we "have." What's our response to this
knowledge, and how does it shape our lives?
Is time something we can spend? Presuming time
is ours to spend or use, the question becomes
What will we do with our time? How will we LIVE?
I'm still sorting out the answers to these questions for myself, but I do know that I always appreciate the sunshine (I love a grey, rainy day, too, but that's another newsletter).
How will you enjoy your extra daylight time?
June is also special because it is Pride Month. Congressional Cemetery in DC is believed to be the only cemetery in the world with a special LGBT (aka LGBTQ/LGBTQIA) section. You can take a self-guided walking tour that highlights special LGBT graves. I highly recommend exploring this historic cemetery!
Connect In-Person
- July 1: I'm hosting a death cafe at Rhizome in DC.
- Life in DC slows down a bit (sort of) in the summer...stayed tuned for a few more summer events in the works!
Connect Online
- Join the online book club! In addition to meeting in person, we also have this platform for discussing books.
- Follow & share Death Positive DC's Facebook & Instagram accounts and website with your friends & family.
Other Events
- Sometime this summer, the good people of Glory Doughnuts in Frederick, MD, will be opening Frederick's first antiques, oddities, and macabre shop. Follow the Instagram account for updates on the opening!
- Check out Congressional Cemetery's summer events.
- Take a tour of Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown. Visit DC by Foot for dates, fees, and registration details.
I finished out May by hosting another "Write Your Own Obit" workshop. It was attended by a very enthusiastic group of creative and engaged people who dove right into the work. Thinking about death—especially our own death—is one way we can reflect on how we are living and how we inspire to live. Writing our own obits is a fun, challenging, and thought-provoking exercise for doing this. I'll hold another one in the fall...stay tuned for details!
I hope to catch up with you in person this summer (visit the events page) or see you online soon!
Warmly,
Sarah
(she/her/hers)
Founder of Death Positive DC
Death Positive DC: Promoting conversations about death & connecting
people around this topic through social media & in-person events since 2017.