Art of Dying Art of Dying_Volume III_joomag | Page 22
DEATH HANGOUT
We start with death and go
off on tangents, talking about
anything and everything at
the end. That's the point.
Olivier: You're mistaken if you believe that you’ll be ready
for the death experience without having thought about
it.Thinking about this tremendous experience does more
than prepare us to die; it also helps us lead a better life.
Keith: Death Hangout guests who have spent a lot of
time contemplating death have a deep sense of calm,
yet they are very active, very productive. I've noticed
that their lives don’t have that busyness, that sense of
hurry. There seems to be a greater sense of authenticity
because their perspective creates a measured
approach. They don’t waste time chasing things that
aren't important. The time that they spend on things is
meaningful and brings a sense of peace. There's a lack
of panic, of striving.
Olivier: Before Death Hangout I had another podcast
which was called Raw Voices. It was really difficult to
get guests. I was getting one response for every ten
requests. With our Death Hangout guests I just send one
email and they reply straight away, saying "Yeah, I will
do this for you.”
Everyone is interested about this topic. Our guests don’t
have to be part of the death community. For instance,
22 | ART OF DYING
we interviewed a well-known comedian who doesn’t
talk about death in his act. What he had to say was funny
and profound. Our interest is how death impacts our life,
that's it. Life interests us more than death. We use death
as the great revealer. We start with death and go off on
tangents, talking about anything and everything at the
end. That's the point.
Keith: The aim of the show is to open up the conversation
to everyone and anyone. If you look at books, at TV, at
movies, death is everywhere. I don't think there's a
subject where you can’t reference death.
Olivier: You want to have fresh perspectives, to bring
something unexpected, something new to the table.
How great it could be to encourage anyone, a politician
or a corporate guy, anybody, to say, “Well this is what
I think about death, and this is how death impacts my
daily life.”
Keith: All of us experience mini- deaths on a regular basis.
There are endings of relationships. There’s growth and
change in ourselves, where we're different to what we
were before. There’s a constant birth- death cycle going
on. I think back when my kids were toddlers and look