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In the time of your life - live!
~William Saroyan

The celebration of May dates back to the ancient Romans. From dancing around the Maypole and crowning the Queen of May to the acknowledgement of labor rights on May Day, it has designated a turning point in the year. The Gaelic Beltane is a quarter day - halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice - and marks the start of the summer season and all its pleasures.

Carnage is the first official album from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. It's a meditation on the mediation of grief - as the New Yorker says, ...a reminder to hold on to the bits of beauty left in the rubble of loss.

You can listen here and the New Yorker piece is here.

Many of the earliest tombs attempted to address every anticipated need of the dead in the afterlife. Sometimes that meant literal items, sometimes the representations of same. That included companion animals to ward off loneliness.

You can get a glimpse of eternity as seen through this venerable cat's face here.

The award winning NPR journalist Diane Rehm has taken on the topic of what is known as medical aid in dying. She has written a book and now put together a documentary of the same name exploring all sides of this issue in her trademark fair and thorough fashion. Inspired by her own experience witnessing the death of her husband, it asks Is there a right to die?

You can find the book here and the movie here.

Joy Harjo is serving her second term as the 23rd poet laureate of the United States - the first Native American named to that post. Her poem, Remember, as presented by Emergence magazine, offers an interactive experience that echoes the eternal coming and going of life.

You can read the poem by tracing the white circle across the lines here.

This CNN story on death doulas offers a quick primer on the history of the field, highlighting both Alua Arthur, Virginia Chang and the role of INELDA (International End of Life Doula Association).

Covid has brought everyone face to face with mortality this past year. Both Arthur and Chang point out that we are all in a grief process right now and all of us seek a death with dignity for ourselves and our loved ones.

You can read the article here.

The Calm app is seeking to expand into other markets and A World of Calm on HBO Max is the result.

Narrated by Lucy Liu and designed to offer a gorgeous experience of nature without any of the usual drama and a little bit of ASMR, this documentary offers the opportunity to chill.

You can read more about the question of 'scaling' meditation in Carrie Battan's New Yorker article here and you can find the trailer here.

The outsider country singer Jerry Jeff Walker died last year. He's best known for his song, "Mr. Bojangles".

In her insightful New Yorker profile, Amanda Petrusich writes about his gift of empathy for people in distress and that he is the perfect companion for nights when you might be feeling certain sorrows acutely. He will stay by your side and show you a way back.

Read the article here watch him perform Desperados here.

Donovan Tavera is a forensic cleaner in Mexico City. This short documentary by Louise Monlaü examines what it means to bring solace to the living, offering a measure of healing in the rituals of cleansing.

Watch the short film here.

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