Life. We are born, we experience, and then we die. A beginning, a middle, and an ending. What is interesting to me is the similarity between the beginning and the ending.
The beginning: we go through labor to get here. Some of us have a short labor -- mom sneezes and out we come. Others are still trying to arrive after 36 hours.
First we are given milk. We gradually move to soft foods, then reach a point where we eat anything we want.
We sleep most of the time. (At least mom and dad hope so!) Gradually we sleep less and become more active. The same with socialization. At first we connect with mom and dad. Then with our extended family and friends. Eventually we make our own friends and make our way in the world.
At the close of our lives, these same patterns and dynamics in labor, eating, sleeping, and sociability occur -- but this time in reverse.
Just as we have to go through an intensive process to enter this world, so do we go through labor to leave it. Again, some labors are very short, while for others, the labor can vary in length from days to weeks.
The changes to our diet and eating habits are reversed, as well. Months before death, we stop eating meat, then fruits and vegetables, then soft food. Finally we stop consuming liquids and even water.
Just as in the first stages of our lives, our sleeping habits will undergo changes -- but this time they proceed in the opposite direction. We start by adding an afternoon nap and then find that we need a morning nap on top of that. Then we are asleep more than we are awake. Finally, we basically sleep all the time. We are non-responsive. We are beginning our "final push" to leave.
In the months before death, as our labor begins, socialization declines. We have less interest in worldly events, less interest in activities, and even in leaving the house. Our range of activities narrows. At the same time, our circle of friends and loved ones shrinks to include only those very close to us. Finally, we go completely within ourselves and prepare for our labor to exit this life.
Birth and death are the bookends of life.
Something more about... The Parallels Between Birth and Death: Understanding Life's Bookends
The process of labor to leave this world with the signs of approaching death is the focus of Gone From My Sight: The Dying Process. What our special people can do during this process is the focus of The Eleventh Hour: A Caring Guide for the Hours to Minutes Before Death. These two booklets are part of our discounted End of Life Guideline Series Bundle.
