9 Death Positive Posts Every Funeral Pro Should Read
November 19th, 2020
Up until the last couple of years, conversations around death and dying within this profession rarely happened in the social media scene.
In fact, most funeral homes’ social feeds were essentially and endlessly obits.
Thank goodness that we’re moving towards more and better conversations around death online, mostly thanks to the “Death Positive Movement” which started back in 2013 with Caitlin Doughty and her company, The Order Of The Good Death.
Now, there are so many leaders who are coming from within and outside of our profession, catalyzing the very necessary online conversations around death, dying, grief, pre-planning, and all the details in between.
We thought we’d curate a few posts that stood out for us, which point to many resources you can plug into at your funeral home.
We hope these 9 curated posts on death positivity inspire you to dive deeper into this movement, and become a part of it if you’re not already. Enjoy!
Post #1: Where The Death Positive Movement Began
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If we’re going to talk about death positivity, we’ve gotta start things off with the OG leader in this movement: Caitlin Doughty. In this video, Doughty invites you to do one thing, easy and simple: hang out with more corpses. She offers up some thoughts on the importance of rituals following the death of a loved one, and some ideas to get started.
You’ll appreciate this post if: You’re just diving into the thought of death rituals and want to know more about them.
For more on this topic, follow: @endwellproject @thegooddeath
Post #2: The Art Of Validating Grief
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What we’re learning now is the importance of those who are grieving, to have their grief. To feel seen in it, and understood. To feel validated in it. This post does a great job at doing just that, in a way that’s approachable, rather than too “self helpy.”
You’ll appreciate this post if: You’re grieving, or would like to better support your client families while they’re grieving, through content that validates their grief.
For more on this topic, follow: @thethingaboutgrief @columbuscommunitydeathcare
Post #3: Racism & Death
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Let’s face it, the death industry is (still) a white male dominated profession. Things will certainly change, and we better look to creating foundations rooted in equality for all in order for us to grow together. It’s time to encourage each other to do our “homework” and learn about systemic racism and inequality within the funeral service industry, so that we can overcome it.
You’ll appreciate this post if: Racism and racial justice within the death industry is something you’re wanting to dive into.
For more on this topic, follow: @oceanaendoflifedoula
Post #4: Facilitating Healing Conversations Around Death
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This post is so important because it points to the fact that death positivity isn’t just a trend, and it doesn’t just fit within the death profession. Even Ariana Huffington, the CEO of Huffington Post, is talking about the importance of acknowledging death. Let’s give a big round of applause for the mainstream media creating some real space for healing conversations around death and dying.
You’ll appreciate this post if: Facilitating healing conversations around death outside of the funeral home is something you could use help with.
For more on this topic, follow: @deathpositivedc
Post #5: Looking Death Right In The Eye
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Ahh, does anyone else just feel like letting out a deep sigh after seeing this post? Finally, someone is normalizing the IMAGE of death, right here on Instagram. It’s pretty rare to scroll through social media and find cremains right under your thumb, but thankfully Jill Shock, a death doula in LA, is changing our image of dead bodies and cremains. It sure does seem that death is making a comeback into our lives, and now not just in our homes… but in our hearts.
You’ll appreciate this post if: You’re looking for ways to normalize talking about, thinking about, and looking at death… without being or sounding creepy.
For more on this topic, follow: @deathdoulala
Post #6: Upleveling Your Virtual Services For Families
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The fact that we’ve been stuck inside and distanced from each other for almost an entire year is surely something that creates change. Especially when the act of a funeral relies upon the gathering of people. Thankfully, there’s lots of resources out there on how to transform your funeral home’s level of service into valuable online offerings.
You’ll appreciate this post if: Your funeral home is interested in expanding upon your virtual offerings, from experts in the industry.
For more on this topic, follow: @talkdeathdaily
Post #7: Making Death A Truly Positive Experience
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Can the concepts of death and positive really co-exist? Thanks to death doula Alua Arthur, they truly can. She turns the idea of death positive on its head with her “glass half full” approach to life. Many of her posts help you to consider how much recognizing our down deaths can help us truly live a positive, gratitude filled life, and this post is no exception.
You’ll appreciate this post if: You’d like to approach the death positive movement in a truly uplifting, happy kind of way… and want to learn how to inspire others to do the same.
For more on this topic, follow: @going_with_grace
Post #8: Education On Pre-Planning
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Pre-planning has always been a touchy topic in the funeral service industry. The age old question has always been: how do we educate people on the value of pre-planning, without scaring them off or boring them to death (pun intended)? This post does a pretty good job at doing just that, with a workshop that feels interesting, inclusive, and inviting.
You’ll appreciate this post if: Pre-planning is still a challenging conversation for you, and you need help with educating your community about it.
For more on this topic, follow: @beatreecremation
Post #9: Laughter Is The Medicine
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There are a lot of funeral director related jokes out there, but what about death jokes? And what about death jokes that aren’t creepy or dark? Do you hear the crickets? We sure do. We love that this post makes laughing about death obtainable for non-funeral professionals. Because if we’re going to think about death from time to time, we certainly need to laugh about it, too.
You’ll appreciate this post if: You’d like to approach the death positive movement in a truly uplifting, happy kind of way… and want to learn how to inspire others to do the same.
For more on this topic, follow: @going_with_grace
How have these posts inspired you? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
[…] post 9 Death Positive Posts Every Funeral Pro Should Read appeared first on funeralOne […]
Great post. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Lin!
[…] before our time comes so we can better support each other when it does. We suggest you read up on Death Positivity or maybe try playing a death card game like Morbid Curiosity and see where that takes […]