🐦‍⬛ Visible Friday #22: Gathering Matters

Darling Vizzy D's - writing to you a little late this week because I am currently up to my eyeballs in cats claw vine, running our Coffin Weaving Weekend with the wonderful Zimmi Forrest.

A few pics attached because LOOK AT WHAT IS EMERGING. 🌿

And honestly, this weekend has been such a beautiful reminder of something I think we can easily forget in this work:

We need to gather.

Gather with our peers.

Gather with colleagues.

Gather with people who understand the strange, beautiful, tender work that we do.

Whether that’s face-to-face around a table, in a workshop covered in vines, or virtually from your laptop, there is something incredibly nourishing about having space to decompress, share what’s happening, ask the question you’ve been carrying around, witness someone else’s experience and learn from each other.

This weekend has been nourishing me in all the ways.

A gentle reminder that sometimes we don't need to do more.

We just need to create the space.

And let people come.

🐦‍⬛ So this week’s Visible Friday prompt is very simple:

Where are you gathering?

Who are the people you can talk to about this work?

Where do you go when you need to download after a hard day?

Who makes you feel less alone in the work?

And if the answer is not many people… perhaps this is your nudge to find them.

Here are a few ways you can gather with us over the coming weeks:

🐦‍⬛ THE DEATH WORKER SUMMIT — 24–27 SEPTEMBER

I’m speaking at The Death Worker Summit, a free 4-day virtual event bringing together 20 end-of-life practitioners who have built real, sustainable practices around this work.

I’ll be talking about The Intake Conversation for Celebrants.

Because so many of us are called to this work and show up with genuine devotion, but nobody hands us a marketing degree and teaches us how to “sell” what we do.

Knowing how to clearly communicate who you are and what you do is such an important part of building a sustainable practice.

In my session, I’ll walk through that first intake conversation — the exchange that happens when someone is considering working with you — and use it as the entry point for developing clearer key messaging.

Language you can reach for again and again that explains who you are, how you work and what actually changes for people because of it.

If you’re an end-of-life practitioner, or want to become one, and you’ve ever wondered how to turn your calling into a practice that actually pays you, come along.

It’s completely free.

🐦‍⬛ HOLDING FAMILIES THROUGH ASSISTED DYING

We held our Holding Families Through Assisted Dying webinar last week and… well.

It was gorgeous.

Tender. Honest. Nourishing. Thoughtful.

The kind of conversation that reminds me exactly why I wanted to create this community in the first place.

Because there is SO much knowledge sitting inside this community.

Different experiences.

Different contexts.

Different countries.

Different roles within death care.

And when we bring all of that into the room together, something really special happens.

We learn from one another.

There’s no one person who has all the answers here.

Which is rather the point.

The recording is now sitting in the Vizzy D Classroom if you weren’t able to make it live. Go and have a watch when you have some quiet space.

🐦‍⬛ HOW TO START A DEATH CAFÉ

I’ve had a LOT of people asking me about starting Death Cafés lately, and I could talk endlessly about why I think they are such a valuable thing to create in your community.

Trust building.

Deep listening.

Finding out what people are actually thinking and wondering about death.

Identifying themes and needs within your community.

Creating conversations that can lead to better death care.

And, frankly, having a regular place where people can come together and talk about something we so often avoid.

There are so many joyous benefits to creating a Death Café.

My free *How To Start A Death Café* video of tips is also ready and waiting for you in the Vizzy D Classroom if you’re thinking about starting one of your own.

🐦‍⬛ And don't forget, the Vizzy D Community chat is there for all your questions too.

You can use the category toggle to direct a question to me, or throw it open to the whole community.

There are some gorgeous conversations happening in there right now, from imposter syndrome to memorial committals, direct cremation, the changing shape of death care and so much more.

Get amongst it.

Because this work can be big and beautiful and meaningful…

But it can also be a lot to carry alone.

So this week, go and find your people.

Gather round.

Ask a question.

Share something you’ve learned.

Tell someone about the thing that happened this week that you’re still carrying.

Or just sit in the room with people who get it.

Sometimes that is enough.

Right. Back to the coffin weaving I go...

Only love,