Worldwide Stew

New Episode - Death and my poem, Mom Unfinished

I just published my latest podcast episode. In it, I tell a little about my background in working with death, dying, and grief. I recite a poem I just wrote, Mom, Unfinished.

You can listen to all the WorldwideStew podcasts wherever you get your podcasts. Here’s a direct link to the most recent episode.

I hope you like it!

Hi, it’s Mike. It’s good to see you. I wrote a poem for you, and I’ll read it shortly. But I wanted to tell you briefly why I wrote it, to give you some context. I’ve spent my professional life caring for those who are sick and in many cases dying. And I’ve been at the bedsides of the sick and dying for well over 30 years. First in chaplain training, then for 12 years working in hospice, starting during the AIDS epidemic. And then for the last 19 years in cardiovascular care. There are also the personal losses that I’ve experienced on my own. So I know a lot about death, dying, and in the poem I’ll be sharing, Mom, Unfinished. I wanted to try to capture the experience of going to a death at a patient’s home when I was working in hospice. During those days, I was on call every six weeks, 24-7. Some nights were completely exhausting. But as I hope you’ll see, they did have moments of unforgettable reward. Hi, I’m Mike Davis, and this is Worldwide Stew.

Reclaiming our Attention (and our Inbox)

In recent news, Meta and YouTube were found guilty of designing addictive products that harmed young people. There’s no doubt of the validity of that claim. However, they aren’t the only organizations responsible for co-opting attention.

My own attention deficit journey began this morning. I had nearly 3,000 unread emails in my inbox. What to do?

I looked at them the way you might look at a crime scene: who were the potential suspects? Sure, there were lots of suspects from a slew of different emails. SO, how to get filter through all these emails? Hmmm? What do many of them have in common?

The patient has the Floor

You’re in a meeting and everyone’s piling in on a new proposal — all at once. You’re only there by chance. Your boss offhandedly told you to come. You don’t have an earned seat at the table.

Then the president stops, waves her hands, and calls for quiet. She turns your way. What do you think, she asks?

It’s a powerful recognition of your authority, your understanding, your agency.

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The Periodic Table of Birthday Elements

This was for my brother’s Birthday. It was created by Claude.ai based on my original idea. I wanted to share it with readers.

Do we ever really say goodbye? On grief and spores.

As a youngster, I used to enjoy stomping down on mushrooms growing in our yard. Sometimes, when I jumped on them particularly ferociously, I could see some sort of powder fly out.

Years later, I learned that the flying powder was spores. Spores are one way that nature keeps things alive. It’s like Nature’s filing system. When I stomped on those mushrooms, the powder from under the mushroom’s head and gills generated those puff-clouds, which were then carried off by the breeze into the world. Those spores ensured that my pre-stomped mushroom endured.