Diamond Life

23/08/2025

ARUN SHARMA | ARTIST / DESIGNER / WRITER / CERAMICS TEACHER

What is Death?

Death is the end of a person’s life.

What happens when we die?

For the deceased person death is a finality after which there is no more (living). I wish/hope there is more but for the most part I imagine death to be the final lights out.

In some stories I write, I muse or imagine more after death. Maybe ones’ consciousness is in a simulation and we wake, only to discover we are in a marketing simulation (where we are asked questions like “do you prefer Coke or Pepsi”?).

Maybe this life on earth is a part of a trial, where we have to learn by experiencing life, and then we move on to the next place, to experience life in a different way. I always liked the quote “we are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a human experience”.

However, in all probability, we are really self aware material meat sacks, held down on the surface of a rock, hurdling through space. Death is a final, inescapable inevitability, over which we have little to no say.

All that being said, death is entirely something else for those of us who continue living. Witnessing death gives the rest of us a chance to not only ask what death is, but also what life is? After some of us die, the ones left behind not only get to miss and mourn them, but also get to reflect on the deceased’s life, and our own life.

Witnessing death gives a person a chance to ask what life has been for them so far, is this what they want life to (continue to) be? If they want it to be different—then how do they want it to be different? Do they quietly, methodically improve small things, or do they completely upheave every aspect of life to see how things shake out? Do we cling to safety and security, or do we embrace the chaos in which we enter and exit?

Death shows us that life is a person’s [own] to live. In life, and even in death, we ultimately only have our singular point of view that informs our personal experience.

This self reflection, deriving from witnessing death, or even having a near death experience, also gives us a chance to ask: What is my life in relation to others? What experience do I have and/or want to have with my family, the one I was born into, and the one I started? What do friends mean, and what do enemies mean?

For me, having dealt with death of family and friends, my answer to knowing that my life will one day come to an end is taking care of my family, traveling as much as possible, living as an artist, teaching what I know to others. If I can (continue) to do these things well then it was a life worth living.

—Arun Sharma (2025)

For the full editorial please visit: https://www.deathletterprojects.com/arun-sharma

Editor’s note: Arun Sharma was born in New York and has lived and worked in Canada, Japan, and the UK. His work has been exhibited widely, both nationally and internationally, and he is a former recipient of a US–UK Fulbright Award for research at the National Centre for Ceramic Studies, Cardiff Metropolitan University. Now based in Sydney, Arun teaches at his inner-west workshop, 'Kaolin Studios' in Lewisham. He has recently begun creating bespoke ceramic urns and welcomes conversations with those wishing to design a unique vessel for their loved one. Contact: https://www.kaolinclaystudios.com.au/

31/07/2025

Whatever happens, stay alive.
Don't die before you're dead.
Don't lose yourself, don't lose hope, don't lose direction. Stay alive, with yourself, with every cell of your body, with every fiber of your skin.

Stay alive, learn, study, think, read, build, invent, create, speak, write, dream, design.
Stay alive, stay alive inside you, stay alive also outside, fill yourself with colors of the world, fill yourself with peace, fill yourself with hope.
Stay alive with joy.

There is only one thing you should not waste in life,
and that's life itself.

~ Virginia Woolf
Virginia woolf Books:
https://amzn.to/4j07gIv

~ Art by Nikolai fomen

30/07/2025

30/07/2025

Want to help a grieving friend? Let them be sad.⁣ Really. ⁣Sadness is a natural response to loss, hardship, and death. It just is.⁣
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And it's hard to know what to do when your friends are hurting. It sucks to see someone you love in pain. The thing is, you can’t cheer someone up by telling them to look on the bright side, or by giving them advice. It just doesn’t work.⁣⁣
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The trick is to lean into your helplessness in the face of your friend’s pain. Your job, honestly, is to feel awkward and stay there anyway. Just hang right out with their pain.⁣⁣
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When things are dark, it's ok to be dark. Really. Not every corner needs the bright light of encouragement. In a similar vein, don't encourage someone to have for good things that happened to them in the past or good things that still exist. ⁣
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Example: We recently we saw someone respond to grieving person's comment about their sadness by telling them to shove down all the "bad feelings" and think about the good things they still have in their life. ⁣
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NO! ⁣
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First of all, just say no to unsolicited advice. When someone talks to you about how hard this is, notice your impulse to jump in with a solution, and then DON'T DO IT. Most of the time people are simply looking for acknowledgment about how awful this situation is. ⁣
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Second, good things and horrible things occupy the same space; they don't cancel each other out.⁣ Sadness is healthy. Telling someone to look on the bright side or appreciate what they still have just tells them you're not someone they can talk with about their pain. ⁣
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Instead, mirror their reality back to them. When they say, "This sucks," say, "Yes, it does." It may seem too simple, but it's amazing how much that simple acknowledgement helps.⁣ It is an unfathomable relief to have a friend who will sit with you and let you feel exactly how you feel.⁣
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For more tips on how to give the support you intend, visit refugeingrief.com
⁣

27/07/2025

A visionary startup in the Netherlands is transforming the future of burial with eco-friendly coffin-like pods made from mushroom mycelium — the root structure of fungi. These biodegradable pods are designed to decompose naturally in the soil, breaking down within weeks while simultaneously enriching the earth with nutrients from both the pod and the body inside.

Unlike traditional coffins, which often contain metal, varnish, and synthetic materials that hinder decomposition, these mycelium pods promote a natural cycle of renewal. As the body and coffin return to the earth, they support microbial activity and plant growth, turning the burial site into a source of new life rather than long-term waste.

The process aligns with nature’s rhythms and reduces the environmental impact of conventional funerals, which often involve embalming chemicals and non-biodegradable materials. This approach offers a meaningful, sustainable alternative that honors life by giving back to the planet.

By merging ancient biological processes with modern design, this Dutch startup is redefining how we think about death — as a gentle return to the earth, supporting regeneration and ecological balance.

24/07/2025

We are delighted to announce that the NSW Health Department have approved crematoriums to offer shrouded cremation to the NSW community.

Shrouded cremation is the practice of returning a body to the elements by way of fire cremation but without the need for a coffin. It is a beautiful, sustainable and respectful practice and one Natural Grace is proud to have pionereed in Victoria and offered our community for over a decade.

This is wonderful news for all those seeking to minimise their environmental impact but also for those for whom a coffin serves no meaningful purpose.

As highly experienced shrouded cremation practitioners, we invite you to talk with us about how shrouded cremation could work for you.

For more information you can visit us at our beautiful new Hunter Central Coast Sanctuary, explore more about shrouded cremation at https://naturalgrace.com.au/hunter/green-funerals/ or call us on 02 4951 6631.

19/04/2025

20/03/2025

Coffin weaving workshops teach people how to make an alternative to traditional wooden caskets to suit their loved ones while helping the environment at the same time. Read more: https://ab.co/43T8rof

Get the news that matters to you straight from the source. Download the ABC NEWS app: https://ab.co/abcnewsapp.

26/10/2024

It's one of life's inevitabilities yet so many people are uncomfortable talking about It.Death can happen when you least expect it — but as 7.30’s Tom Hartle...