Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Dead is Dead: Euphemism and the Power of Words

So...this happened last month: https://youtu.be/UUqr4P7P3gM
(You have to click over to help increase my "views" on YouTube!)

There have been so many things that this blog has allowed me to say, and so many ways that it has allowed me to write and teach about the lessons that I've learned throughout all of this. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm pushing the envelope just a little too far as I talk about grief and the way that it is impacting my family.

It was such an honor to be invited to speak at the TEDx event at Abilene Christian University last month. In case you're not familiar with TEDx, it's an off-shoot of TED, a global series of talks featuring "ideas worth spreading." I thought a lot about what I wanted to say, what ideas I had that were "worth spreading," and while I had a lot to say about a lot of topics (um, under-funding for pediatric cancer research, anyone?), I had to think of what I could talk about that wouldn't cause me to break down in tears on the TEDx stage.

And so I chose to speak about euphemisms, phrases that I've tried to avoid using here on this blog and when talking to my kids. Obviously, it's caused us a few headache-y conversations, with Solly in particular, but I think that overall, it's been right for us.

I think Sam would have been proud of me.

9 comments:

  1. Excellent talk! Hugs to you Phyllis - ♥

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  2. Phyllis, I watched your speech and it was incredible. A great message delivered with incredible strength and poise.

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  3. Outstanding! This should be required for all health care professionals who deal with death and dying. I am totally impressed with the content and with the delivery. (Even without John Cleese's British accent.)

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  4. I've always believed in honesty. A lot of euphemisms are just awful. They don't change reality.

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  5. Oh my goodness, Phyllis, this talk is remarkable.

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  6. Thank you, Phyllis. This is outstanding.

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  7. so wonderful, it cannot have been easy to think about it all, much less to say it all, dead is dead but not morbid, Sammy died, but somehow he's giving me life, through your good words

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  8. That was amazing, kol hakavod to you for this powerful lesson.

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