Ways To Zen

You may have heard of “Swedish death cleaning". It’s the idea that, some years before your death, you clear out your house or apartment, you tidy up your finances, and you leave it easy for your family to deal with everything once you’re gone. I know some of you will find your own demise hard to contemplate — many people refuse to face the fact that our one and only life will end sometime. And for that reason, they put off thinking about it. But face it we must. And one of the best ways we can do that is to plan for it. Most of us can’t plan for a death that happens without much warning, but we can plan our life and living arrangements with the people left behind taken into account. Let’s fast-forward to your death. Or mine, if thinking of your own makes you feel uncomfortable. I die. Family and friends are distraught. While still dealing with the grief, they also have to find a funeral director. Arrange to have the body transferred to the funeral home. Choose what sort of coffin,...