Finding Joy and Meaning: Appreciative Inquiry for Life and Death with Jill Greenbaum

27/06/2025 27 min

Listen "Finding Joy and Meaning: Appreciative Inquiry for Life and Death with Jill Greenbaum"

Episode Synopsis

A conversation between Steve Gurney from Positive Aging Community and Jill Greenbaum, focusing on end-of-life experience planning and discovering ways to appreciate life every day. Jill, an educator with a doctorate in curriculum development, shares insights from her work in positive psychology and Appreciative Inquiry, emphasizing the importance of recognizing all of life—both positive and negative aspects. She introduces the concept of Appreciative Living, which involves finding joy in life through an awareness of where and how we focus our attention. Jill discusses her role as a death literacy advocate, graphic facilitator, and Zen Buddhist chaplain using visual tools to help individuals explore, imagine, and develop plans for dying well. She highlights ways people can tell the stories of their lives through creating their visual obituaries and discusses her work drawing personalized end-of-life plans. These visuals can become conversation starters, helping people communicate their wishes and reduce the burden on loved ones. The discussion underscores the importance of planning for end-of-life, not just legally but emotionally and socially, to ensure peace and clarity for oneself and one's family. Jill advocates for normalizing conversations about death and dying, encouraging people to explore creative and personalized approaches to end-of-life planning.For more information:  https://jillgreenbaum.com/Watch the on-demand recording at https://www.retirementlivingsourcebook.com/videos/finding-joy-and-meaning-appreciative-inquiry-for-life-and-death-with-jill-greenbaum

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