Rebecca was afraid of death. When she helped her grandmother through a terminal illness, she found herself drawn to something she could not quite express.
Though she was afraid, she loved her grandmother so much she wanted to just be with her as she became more frail.
When her grandmother died, Rebecca wanted to be around older people at the end of life. She was still not sure why, but she came to the Healing Center to talk more. Rebecca decided she would participate in our end-of-life care training to explore her own responses to being with dying people. After the training, she was open to getting to know someone like her grandmother.
Over time, Rebecca discovered something important about herself. It was not fear that prevented her from exploring something so daunting, rather it was her curiosity toward another person’s life experience that guided her. Discovering that curiosity is more important than fear was something that came to guide Rebecca in a lot of other parts of her life.
This simple shift has been profound. From being with her grandmother at the end of her life, to helping others she is just getting to know, Rebecca says, “The Healing Center nourished my curiosity and, from there, I became a better person and more connected to our Jewish community.”.