I just read a really interesting article about the subject of ageing (British spelling) and death in China.
Apparently, it's taboo to discuss death, because it might help the process along. And to even think about placing an elder in hospice is anathema.
I think that we could learn something from the Chinese regarding the care of our older loved ones. It seems to me that we push them off into nursing homes or assisted living facilities all too easy. We see ourselves as individuals and we want the opportunity to make our own way. Many times this means that we are unwilling to make sacrifices in order to keep our parents or grandparents from being alone in old folks homes. Here's the thing though! We can look around and see the pain caused when parents don't have time for their children. Shouldn't we learn from this and ask ourselves what pain is being caused when children don't have enough time for their parents?
It seems though, that the Chinese have room to grow as well. Because discussing death is seen as bad luck, talks about end of life care and things such as wills are largely neglected. And with 25% of their population, approximately 400 million people, reaching retirement age, the article posits that these types of issues really do need to be addressed.
Definitely thought-provoking...
Read the article here.
1 comment:
Hey elle,
Thanks for this article :-) I am taking a Multicultural Diversity class at school and we are discussing ways in which therapy differs for each culture and the things we need to be aware of. As one who wants to be a Grief counselor this article was really enlightening for me. I can see potetial issues with Chinese clients in the future should they choose to come in.
Kristen Uppendahl
Post a Comment