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Welcome to the SevenPonds.com blog – a community-driven extension of SevenPonds.com! I hope you find comfort and community in the resources and stories featured here. I’m always happy to hear from readers and can be reached at suzette@sevenponds.com.
FEATURED
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Support Healthy Aging By Maintaining Balance — On One Leg: Mayo Clinic study suggests to use it or lose it -
“Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver: Oliver’s beloved poem has brought comfort to many mourning the loss of a loved one -
How Artificial Intelligence Is Being Used to Help Physicians Identify Cancer Earlier: AI tools can analyze images and tissue samples more quickly and effectively, leading to more accurate diagnoses
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Categories
Category Archives: Cultural Perspectives
Technology and Mourning: Changes in How We Mourn, How We Remember, and How We Memorialize Our Dead
For better or worse, technology is transforming our processes of grief
Technology is not a new thing. The world was forever changed when the printing press was invented, when electricity was discovered, and when the computer chip was produced. Technology continually changes every aspect of the world. In the world of … Continue reading
Cultural Values May Inhibit End-of-Life Choices
Health professionals and patients working together can clarify options for Chinese and Latino families bound to tradition
Approaching the end of life is difficult enough without having to deal with language barriers and deep-set cultural norms that may affect the decision-making process. For Asians and Latinos, who are bound to tradition and may lack the necessary communication … Continue reading
“Sitting Up” and Other Burial Practices of South Appalachia
Burial traditions from the distinct culture of South Appalachia
It can be difficult to define the region of Appalachia or South Appalachia, but for our purposes we’ll look to the Appalachian Regional Commission, which defines it as 420 counties spread out across parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, … Continue reading
Chinese Funeral Traditions Observed in Shanghai
A peek into the Chinese funeral customs of fire, joss paper and xi bo (as seen in Shanghai)
Our founder, Suzette, recently visited China and was able to bear witness to a Chinese funeral in Shanghai. China is known for their visually expressive rituals (especially with their Chinese New Year festivities) and their funerals are no different. Below … Continue reading
Behind Glass — A Barcelona Death Ritual
Glass allows family and friends close proximity to their loved one who has died
Caitlin Doughty describes in detail numerous funerary practices from around the world in her book “From Here To Eternity.” One of the stops she makes is to the Altima funeral home in Barcelona, Spain. Here she learns about the Catalan … Continue reading
Halloween and the Celtic Festival of Samhain
An ancient tradition tied to modern day Halloween
In modern-day America, most of us think of Halloween as a fun holiday — a time when kids of all ages get to shed their everyday personas and dress up as anything from a witch or a monster to a … Continue reading
