It felt good to lay in bed this morning after such a big day yesterday… but it was with a twinge of guilt that we had decided to do the Wellness Expo yesterday in place of our monthly meeting and not in addition to it. So the first thank you goes to all of our supporters who were happy for us to have a day off!
We had an incredible response yesterday. We were busy the whole day and there were people actually waiting to talk to us, to ask questions and have discussions and share with us their stories and experiences. Tasmania is full of incredible people, those willing to have a go, those who are inquisitive and open minded, those who want to learn, those who live by a kind of DIY ethos, those who want to challenge mainstream ideas and notions – including the industry around death and funerals. To each and every one of you, locals, visitors, tourists alike who can and gave us their time, thanks for making our day worthwhile. In particular – to the lady yesterday who said that she came to the Expo just to see us, thank you – we are glad that you did. To the person who just paused in passing long enough to say to us that she gets all our email and enjoys them so keep up the good work – we will, and thank you – your encouragement helps us keep going. To those who expressed that they want to get involved – thank you as well, we are so humbled and appreciative! To our friends and family who help so much behind the scenes, thank you – you make it easier, always. And to the beautiful people at the Natural Death Advocacy Network, thank you for your support and for sending me the flyers – nearly all of them were taken by people who were genuinely interested – we are so pleased to be a part of this network.
There are some fantastic things happening in the space of Death and Dying. Tasmania is close to Natural Burials, Family Led Funerals are becoming a reality now along with shrouded Cremation and shrouded Burial is also becoming more widely considered as a viable, financial and environmentally responsible option. You n’ Taboo is just one voice is an ever growing chorus of voices all chanting the benefits of this movement – empowerment and education. All of these voices, like anything else, need to be singing the same song if ever we are going to encourage change on a mass scale. That’s one of the real benefits of getting out in the thick of places like the Wellness Expo. Meeting like minded individuals and taking the time to talk but also to listen – there is so much we can learn from each other and so many valuable connections we are able to make if we take the time to listen.
In less than a week a dear friend and I are heading off to Melbourne for 8 days at the end of which, all going well, we will have completed our Preparing the Way training which means we will be entering the space as Death Doulas. I expect that upon our return I will be bursting with information to share with you all…
Until then.
Bec x