Sacred Dying SA

19/04/2026

"Dead people receive more flowers than the living ones because the regret is stronger than the gratitude." -

Send flowers, today. Say I love you, today. Say I'm sorry, today. Do it, today. Because tomorrow might not come. Be empowered by gratitude, today and everyday, and you won't have regrets.
Let death be our teacher.

18/04/2026

Dr Peter Roos sent us a brave letter this week...

Dear Dignity SA,

I took the Hippocratic Oath in 1972. This was a solemn moment when all the graduating class embraced the concept of “Do no harm”. Hopefully over the years we have, to the best of our knowledge and ability, not performed acts which have been harmful, not relieving suffering but making it worse. Nobody recognized the concept that withholding a patients request to relieve there intolerable physical suffering could also be doing harm.

It is in the nature of all practitioners (surgeons, oncologists and palliative care practitioners etc.) not to want to surrender in the face of some diseases that have a relentless and cruel passage towards death.

We hate admitting defeat in our failure to cure a disease or to adequately manage the intolerable painful and undignified consequences of these diseases.

In the 53 years since I took the Hippocratic Oath I have seen the extreme suffering of people with ovarian cancer, metastatic breast cancer including my mother, a devout Christian whose only concern about assisted dying was the possible criminal implication for the person assisting her and people suffering the indignity of degenerative illnesses, where they were unable to attend to any bodily function including swallowing.

I have the greatest respect for Palliative Care practitioners. They are dedicated, kind, empathetic and hard working supporters of those suffering from terminal illness using the best available science. They provide important emotional support to the dying and their families.

Unfortunately, if you had listened to the interview with a palliative care doctor on a local radio station this week you will have heard many responses saying that her opinion that pain can adequately be controlled in order to relieve intolerable suffering is certainly not correct in many cases. In these cases the medical profession needs to admit defeat and say, ’‘We have failed to cure this disease and we are failing to relieve the suffering associated with it. We now need to listen to the patient who may want to continue living or may be asking us to help them in escaping their suffering and assist them in dying.”

At no stage should one consider administering a lethal dose of a drug unless the patient has requested it. Furthermore, I would only consider it after consultation with another specialist in the field and we confirmed that every effort, using the best scientific methods, had been made to cure the disease and relieve the suffering associated with it.

In summary I give my full support to changing the law in South Africa to allow Medical Assistance in Dying for those who request it in order to escape the intolerable physical suffering associated with incurable terminal illness.

Kind regards and thank you for initiating the court action,

Dr Peter Roos
MB.ChB. FRCOG.

15/04/2026

Are you able to walk this road with Dignity South Africa? They need your voice and your support 🙏

The road to decriminalising MAiD is a long one and we need your support. To make a contribution to our legal costs please follow the link in the comments below.

14/04/2026

How wonderful that the death doula movement is gaining momentum worldwide.

Nicole Kidman is ready to branch out beyond acting. During a Saturday talk in San Francisco, she revealed that she is training to be a death doula.

11/04/2026

Join us for an online Death Cafe ☕️

Looking for a safe, open space to talk about life, death, and everything in between?

Join End-of-Life Doulas Lisa Ludwig-Mackenzie (In the moments ZA) and Marie-Louise Steyn (Sitara End-of-Life Doula Services ) for an informal, heartfelt conversation.

Date: 23 April
Location: Online

There is no agenda—just honest talk, compassionate listening, and community connection. Whether you have questions or just want to listen, you are welcome here.

Registration link in the comments. We hope to see you there!

10/04/2026

Are your end-of-life choices clear?

📝 How many of these extremely important choices have you shared with your loved ones?

10/04/2026

Death is not an ending it is a sacred transition.

💭 What are your beliefs on death?

10/04/2026

08/04/2026

If su***de were a choice, our loved ones would still be here.

No one chooses to leave the people they love most. No one chooses to shatter their loved ones heart.

Su***de is what happens when pain becomes louder than everything else, when the mind is so overwhelmed, so distorted, so exhausted,
that it cannot see another way out.

Mental illness lies.
It convinces someone they are a burden.
That they don’t matter.
That the world is better without them.

And in that moment, they are not choosing death. They are trying to escape unbearable pain.

Your loved one did not choose to leave you.
They were fighting something most people will never fully understand.

We have to stop calling it a choice.
Because when we do, we miss the truth.

This is about suffering.
This is about a brain in crisis.
This is about someone who needed relief, not judgment.

If you’re reading this and you’re struggling, please stay.
Please tell someone.
You are not a burden.
You are not too much.
You are needed here.

And if you have lost someone, please gently hear this, they did not choose to leave you, they did not know how to cope.

Say their name.
Let them be remembered.

***deAwareness

08/04/2026

This time of year many families of Chinese ancestry observe Tomb Sweeping Day or Chingming. It's a tradition over 2,500 years old that's dedicated to honoring ancestors and those who have died.

Families visit cemeteries to sweep and tidy the burial sites as a gesture of respect and care. They burn incense and joss paper, lay flowers, and share food at the graveside. This tradition helps to keep the bond between the living and the dead alive.




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01/04/2026

ADVANCE DIRECTIVE/LIVING WILL quality bracelets at affordable price.

Please comment YES to this post if you are interested.

20/03/2026

There is a quiet calling that not everyone hears… but those who do, feel it deeply. 🌿

At Sacred Dying SA, we support and educate those who feel drawn to walk alongside others at the end of life — as Death Doulas. This is sacred, meaningful work. It asks for presence, compassion, and the courage to sit with both grief and grace.
If you feel called to serve in this way, to bring comfort, dignity, and humanity back into the dying process… we are here to guide you.

Our training offers a grounded, practical, and heartfelt approach to end-of-life care — equipping you with the knowledge and confidence to step into this role with integrity.

✨ This path is not for everyone… but if you feel it in your bones, you’ll know.

Join us. Learn with us. Walk this path with purpose.

https://sacreddying.co.za

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Sacred Dying South Africa Embracing The End Of Life “Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forget life, to be at peace.” ~Oscar Wilde~ The Art Of Sacr...