In many of my end-of-life care circles, the discussion around Advance Care Planning is never far from the priority list. It doesn't matter whether I'm speaking to those internal or external to the system of provincial health care provision, the idea that we need people to take on these conversations and to record their wishes is of great importance. Recording of your wishes in regard to end of life care does mean less complication overall when the time comes to take care of you while you die. I believe that. It also helps family members/support systems feel less overwhelmed by doing so on your behalf. End of Life planning ensure better outcomes.
But....
End of life planning is also frightening. It can be overwhelming. At times it's terribly boring and blah. More form filling.
We do love our policy and written stuff. It's everywhere. Our evidence based, written biased society loves the words. But not everyone does and simply writing things down does not mean that enough has been done with the feelings and emotions that go along with it.
Art should be part of these conversations. I ask my students to create a dying playlist and then share it with someone important. The songs you pick give insight into both your philosophy of living and your thoughts about how you wish to die. It's a simple exercise yet it says so much. Conversations with others about the songs you pick will permit rich insight into what they like, or what they thought you liked. This is informative. Laughing over the fact that I DO NOT want "Roxanne" by the Police played anywhere near me should you wish me to remain calm leads to questions about what I DO want when I need calming. Already, a laugh over music leads to insight over care.
I'm also a big fan of post-its. Short thoughts can be grouped, added to, re-sectioned etc and an end-of-life care plan emerges. The flexible nature of post-its permits true exploration where the process is just as important as the filled out form, the product.
Back to Art. A creative approach to dying simply, to me, means that we incorporate all ways of learning, feeling and being that make sense to the dying person and their support systems. I want to see joy and creative expression when dealing with the next stage of life, just as we need it while living in this one. For me, creativity honours the person lying in the bed while filling our forms honours a system's need for consistency. (Both are needed).
In the next year I will be pursuing an expressive arts certificate in the hopes that I can explore ways to create awe-filled dying spaces. Not just for the dying, but also for providing time for taking on care and death mythologies. The hope is to re-frame past care experiences into something more hopeful. The death bed or the dying room need not reflect what is happening while someone is dying, it can also be a living legacy to the life lived right up until it is no longer.
And finally, creating meaningful spaces in which to explore the idea of dying and death, allows for the possibility of transformative understanding of self, an authentic glimpse into one's place in the world.
