On the Subject of Death and Dying
We watched a podcast last weekend by our "climate mentor" Nate Hagens interviewing Stephen Jenkinson, author of Die Wise: A manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), who quipped during the conversation "Yeah, everybody knows that somebody else is dying." The discussion centered on our culture's baked in way of (not) dealing seriously with death and grief as deep experience (different from loss of someone or something and moving on). This of course brought up our history in the Order: Ecumenical. Then to be smacked up against THREE of US making that transition in mystery in the same week! Will our grieving be able to honor them? Will our grieving for the earth and her beings be up to the task. Or will we just be sorry for the loss of them and move on? I offer the following poem from our common library on the subject of death and dying, and one I wrote in response to the quote I mentioned. dying is fine)but Death <https://allpoetry.com/dying-is-fine)but-Death> e. e. cummings, 9written 1931, published 19350 dying is fine)but Death ?o baby i wouldn't like Death if Death were good:for when(instead of stopping to think)you begin to feel of it,dying 's miraculous why?be cause dying is perfectly natural;perfectly putting it mildly lively(but Death is strictly scientific & artificial & evil & legal) we thank thee god almighty for dying (forgive us,o life!the sin of Death “I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” – Woody Allen *Everybody Knows* “Everybody knows that everybody else is dying.” – Stephen Jenkinson *Written after listening to Leonard Cohen’s 1988 release he wrote with Sharon Robinson* Everybody knows That everybody else is dying Everybody knows That the planet is frying Everybody knows That everybody else ain’t trying Everybody knows The grim reaper is smiling Everybody knows That there is no buy-in Everybody knows That everybody else is lying Everybody knows That somebody’s crying Everybody knows There’s no use in sighing Everybody knows That *EVERY-BODY ELSE* is dying Everybody knows Everybody knows Everybody knows Everybody knows Everybody knows Everybody knows . . . Milan Hamilton August 19, 2025 Here is a link to the poem put to music and published on my YouTube channel as part of my offering to our grieving and honoring process: https://youtu.be/mbW87WBsObY -- Mellow Milan Hamilton 80 North Center Street Redlands, CA 92373 Phone: (909) 943-1667 email: mellowmilan2@gmail.com
Thanks, Milan. These are powerful reminders of what we all know but often fail to remember. I appreciate you bring it again to our attention. Terry
On Aug 23, 2025, at 12:34, Milan Hamilton via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
We watched a podcast last weekend by our "climate mentor" Nate Hagens interviewing Stephen Jenkinson, author of Die Wise: A manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), who quipped during the conversation "Yeah, everybody knows that somebody else is dying." The discussion centered on our culture's baked in way of (not) dealing seriously with death and grief as deep experience (different from loss of someone or something and moving on). This of course brought up our history in the Order: Ecumenical. Then to be smacked up against THREE of US making that transition in mystery in the same week! Will our grieving be able to honor them? Will our grieving for the earth and her beings be up to the task. Or will we just be sorry for the loss of them and move on? I offer the following poem from our common library on the subject of death and dying, and one I wrote in response to the quote I mentioned.
dying is fine)but Death <https://allpoetry.com/dying-is-fine)but-Death> e. e. cummings, 9written 1931, published 19350
dying is fine)but Death
?o baby i
wouldn't like
Death if Death were good:for
when(instead of stopping to think)you
begin to feel of it,dying 's miraculous why?be
cause dying is
perfectly natural;perfectly putting it mildly lively(but
Death
is strictly scientific & artificial &
evil & legal)
we thank thee god almighty for dying (forgive us,o life!the sin of Death
“I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” – Woody Allen
Everybody Knows
“Everybody knows that everybody else is dying.” – Stephen Jenkinson Written after listening to Leonard Cohen’s 1988 release he wrote with Sharon Robinson
Everybody knows
That everybody else is dying
Everybody knows
That the planet is frying
Everybody knows
That everybody else ain’t trying
Everybody knows
The grim reaper is smiling
Everybody knows
That there is no buy-in
Everybody knows
That everybody else is lying
Everybody knows
That somebody’s crying
Everybody knows
There’s no use in sighing
Everybody knows
That EVERY-BODY ELSE is dying
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
Everybody knows . . .
Milan Hamilton
August 19, 2025
Here is a link to the poem put to music and published on my YouTube channel as part of my offering to our grieving and honoring process:
-- Mellow Milan Hamilton 80 North Center Street Redlands, CA 92373 Phone: (909) 943-1667 email: mellowmilan2@gmail.com <mailto:mellowmilan2@gmail.com>_______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
In this moment, it may be good to rehearse what Gene Marshall, Jack Gilles, and Bruce Williams had to say on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYRUNXdgdW0 Kindest regards, Michael From: Terry Bergdall <bergdall2@gmail.com> Date: Saturday, August 23, 2025 at 3:11 PM To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: OE Listserve <oe@wedgeblade.net>, Milan Hamilton <mellowmilan2@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] On the Subject of Death and Dying Thanks, Milan. These are powerful reminders of what we all know but often fail to remember. I appreciate you bring it again to our attention. Terry On Aug 23, 2025, at 12:34, Milan Hamilton via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: We watched a podcast last weekend by our "climate mentor" Nate Hagens interviewing Stephen Jenkinson, author of Die Wise: A manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), who quipped during the conversation "Yeah, everybody knows that somebody else is dying." The discussion centered on our culture's baked in way of (not) dealing seriously with death and grief as deep experience (different from loss of someone or something and moving on). This of course brought up our history in the Order: Ecumenical. Then to be smacked up against THREE of US making that transition in mystery in the same week! Will our grieving be able to honor them? Will our grieving for the earth and her beings be up to the task. Or will we just be sorry for the loss of them and move on? I offer the following poem from our common library on the subject of death and dying, and one I wrote in response to the quote I mentioned. dying is fine)but Death<https://allpoetry.com/dying-is-fine)but-Death> e. e. cummings, 9written 1931, published 19350 dying is fine)but Death ?o baby i wouldn't like Death if Death were good:for when(instead of stopping to think)you begin to feel of it,dying 's miraculous why?be cause dying is perfectly natural;perfectly putting it mildly lively(but Death is strictly scientific & artificial & evil & legal) we thank thee god almighty for dying (forgive us,o life!the sin of Death “I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” – Woody Allen Everybody Knows “Everybody knows that everybody else is dying.” – Stephen Jenkinson Written after listening to Leonard Cohen’s 1988 release he wrote with Sharon Robinson Everybody knows That everybody else is dying Everybody knows That the planet is frying Everybody knows That everybody else ain’t trying Everybody knows The grim reaper is smiling Everybody knows That there is no buy-in Everybody knows That everybody else is lying Everybody knows That somebody’s crying Everybody knows There’s no use in sighing Everybody knows That EVERY-BODY ELSE is dying Everybody knows Everybody knows Everybody knows Everybody knows Everybody knows Everybody knows . . . Milan Hamilton August 19, 2025 Here is a link to the poem put to music and published on my YouTube channel as part of my offering to our grieving and honoring process: https://youtu.be/mbW87WBsObY -- Mellow Milan Hamilton 80 North Center Street Redlands, CA 92373 Phone: (909) 943-1667 email: mellowmilan2@gmail.com<mailto:mellowmilan2@gmail.com> _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
Thank you Milan. When my partner died 7 years ago, I listened to Cohen for weeks b4 letting his memory go. It was good to feel the grief sing its way home. Memories of Joy and Gene and Larry, even though their bidies are very dead, will continue by what we have learnrd with their presence on Earth. Grieve peacefully, judi White On Sat, Aug 23, 2025, 1:36 PM Milan Hamilton via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
We watched a podcast last weekend by our "climate mentor" Nate Hagens interviewing Stephen Jenkinson, author of Die Wise: A manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), who quipped during the conversation "Yeah, everybody knows that somebody else is dying." The discussion centered on our culture's baked in way of (not) dealing seriously with death and grief as deep experience (different from loss of someone or something and moving on). This of course brought up our history in the Order: Ecumenical. Then to be smacked up against THREE of US making that transition in mystery in the same week! Will our grieving be able to honor them? Will our grieving for the earth and her beings be up to the task. Or will we just be sorry for the loss of them and move on? I offer the following poem from our common library on the subject of death and dying, and one I wrote in response to the quote I mentioned.
dying is fine)but Death <https://allpoetry.com/dying-is-fine)but-Death>
e. e. cummings, 9written 1931, published 19350
dying is fine)but Death
?o baby i
wouldn't like
Death if Death were good:for
when(instead of stopping to think)you
begin to feel of it,dying 's miraculous why?be
cause dying is
perfectly natural;perfectly putting it mildly lively(but
Death
is strictly scientific & artificial &
evil & legal)
we thank thee god almighty for dying (forgive us,o life!the sin of Death
“I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” – Woody Allen
*Everybody Knows*
“Everybody knows that everybody else is dying.” – Stephen Jenkinson
*Written after listening to Leonard Cohen’s 1988 release he wrote with Sharon Robinson*
Everybody knows
That everybody else is dying
Everybody knows
That the planet is frying
Everybody knows
That everybody else ain’t trying
Everybody knows
The grim reaper is smiling
Everybody knows
That there is no buy-in
Everybody knows
That everybody else is lying
Everybody knows
That somebody’s crying
Everybody knows
There’s no use in sighing
Everybody knows
That *EVERY-BODY ELSE* is dying
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
Everybody knows . . .
Milan Hamilton
August 19, 2025
Here is a link to the poem put to music and published on my YouTube channel as part of my offering to our grieving and honoring process:
https://youtu.be/mbW87WBsObY -- Mellow Milan Hamilton 80 North Center Street Redlands, CA 92373 Phone: (909) 943-1667 email: mellowmilan2@gmail.com _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
Milan, I’m grateful for your creative and shared responses in times when they are needed. We humans fail to practice grieving. We ignore and run from dealing with death - the death of others as well as our own no-longer. This response gives us rather dramatically other possibilities. Thank you, Leah Early
On Aug 23, 2025, at 4:37 PM, Ken Fisher via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Thank-you, Michael for the death video with Bruce, Jack and Gene.
On Aug 23, 2025, at 7:27 PM, Judi White via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Memories of Joy and Gene and Larry.
With all our flaws and greatness ….
Ken
_______________________________________________
OE mailing list OE@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net
On Aug 23, 2025, at 6:05 PM, Leah Early <leahearly@comcast.net> wrote:
Milan, I’m grateful for your creative and shared responses in times when they are needed. We humans fail to practice grieving. We ignore and run from dealing with death - the death of others as well as our own no-longer. This response gives us rather dramatically other possibilities.
Thank you, Leah Early
On Aug 23, 2025, at 4:37 PM, Ken Fisher via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Thank-you, Michael for the death video with Bruce, Jack and Gene.
On Aug 23, 2025, at 7:27 PM, Judi White via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Memories of Joy and Gene and Larry.
With all our flaws and greatness ….
Ken
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participants (6)
-
Judi White -
Ken Fisher -
Leah Early -
Michael May -
Milan Hamilton -
Terry Bergdall