Week 0: Challenges and Your "Why"

What’s your why?

For this intro session, we focus on identifying our “why” on end-of-life planning. What are the reasons and people that motivate us to do this challenging work? Below are prompts to reflect on your motivation for planning.

Journal prompts: 

• What do I want my loved ones not have to guess about?

• What worries me most about not having a plan?

• Who am I doing this for, and what do I hope it gives them?

• Bonus: find a picture you can look at or hold in mind when thinking about your why and place it at the beginning of your document

End-of-life planning can be overwhelming and easy to put off until very inconvenient times. I commend all of you who have taken this first step (or continued) toward planning and communicating your wishes. 

If you’re limited on time, I would highly suggest prioritizing the first 3 with medical and legal decisions, if you don’t have them completed already (your will, living will, and power of attorneys - don’t worry, we’ll explain what these all mean if you’re unfamiliar). 

Resources

I’ve listed some great resources to check out that parts of the series draw on. It’s not necessary to buy or request any materials for this series. I will have worksheets and documents all ready for you in each section. 

• Endnotes by Peaceful Presence 

  • Thoughtful checklists for end of life planning

• Compassion and Choices

  • Free resources on medical care decisions (digital, and you can request a free booklet) 

• Moonlit Moth Resource Page 

  • Many locally oriented resources on advance directives