Transformed Views on Death at Dialogue Nights

The final activity of the May 2023 Dialogue Nights solicited brief reflections on participant views of death before the event and what they are now after sharing time together. The activity was simple. Each person received an index card on which they would complete the statements: “Death was …” and “Now death is …” Then each would anonymously place their card in a basket. Once collected, the basket went around the room and each participant read from a card. Here is the complete list of reflections shared that evening.

Death was something I feared, resented, and ran from. Now death is something I see as fuel to live a full and fulfilling life. It is motivation to do the most I can with my time.

Death was scary. Now death is an opportunity to have no regrets, make memories, and live with purpose, allowing us to fulfill our mission in life.

Death was something very sad that will happen at some point in one’s life. Now, death is something that I want to treasure to live a better life.

Death was something I was thinking about earlier today because tonight’s event reminded me that I wasn’t sure how to learn more about it. Now, death is something I think I can understand in relation to life by embodying my beliefs about death within the way I live my life and testing them in [terms of] their impact on how I live.

Death was always abstract for me, something which I felt distant from. Now [with] death, I am not afraid, but aware of its arrival eventually.

Death was inevitable. Now death is inevitable, but shared.

Death was scary and hard to accept. Now, death is still scary and hard to accept, but it’s also a great reminder for us to live our lives to the fullest.

Death was a mess of love, warmth, and joy, the end to something I took for granted or used as support. Now it is a reminder that every life is precious and a reminder to keep the importance in light of loved ones alive.

Death was abstract. Now death is tangible.

Death was a reminder that our time is limited. Now death is a reminder to live life to the fullest.

Now this is our means to live happy and learn from others experience.

Death was distant. Now death is close.

Death was scary, and now death is still scary, but much more hopeful.

Death was a scary thing, a not-wanted thing and the bad thing. Now death is not so scary. Still a little, but a good thing as well.

Death was a simple, natural phenomenon. Now it includes the infinite, is continuous, and is the way to express our history of life.

Death was unknown. Now death is too familiar and unwanted and unfair.

Death was that which is gone. Now death is that which was and can become again.

Death was just something inevitable, something that’s as natural as blinking. Now, death is like a brief pause, a journey of eternity.

Death was for far away, dark and scary, something I didn’t think I was good enough to experience. Now, death is beside me and we are moving through life together. I see its value and I can appreciate it.

Death was scary and unpredictable. Death is still scary, but I have learned that it doesn’t have to be. Something dies and another gets born. It is how we look at it and how we make each moment count.

Death was out of mind. Now death is top of mind.

Death was a fear. Now death is something you never avoid, but something you can create value on your life with.

Death was a void that I feared. Now death is an experience that binds us all and encourages us to find beauty in the unknown.

Death was abstract and big. Now death is more real and accessible.

Death was something that makes me feel sad. Now, death is teaching us how to live our life to the fullest.

Death was a finite ending, nothingness. Now death is a new beginning and a way to integrate more healing and live more fully with the moments we have.

Death was anxiety inducing. Now death is motivation to cherish what we have.

Death was the end of a lovely time. Now death is a chance for a newer version of me to be reborn.

Death was scary. Now death is a new life for the ones who were left behind the [ones who] passed away.

Death was the end. Now death is the beginning.

Death was pain. Now death is pain with ease toward a new kind of idea of life.

Death was just a concept. Now death is a tangible facet of life.

Death was a fear into life. Now death is an impetus to live fully now.

Death was terrifying and bad. Death now is a part of life that can be embraced.

Death was scary. Now death is a new beginning of the end.

Death was coming. Now death is here.

Death was scary. Now death is new beginning.

Death was dispiriting, painful, and dreaded. Now death is a rite of passage.