For many people, a good death means having the chance to say goodbye to loved ones, making sure to let them know what they’ve meant to you. But, of course, no one can plan when or how they’re going to die, so this communication doesn’t always happen.

To make sure that your friends and loved ones know how much they meant to you when the time comes, Dr. V.J Periyakcil, director of the Stanford Palliative Care Education and Training Program, believes she has developed a solution: On September 7, she released the Friends and Family letter ― a template of seven questions meant to help prompt the kind of poignant goodbye that makes death feel a little bit easier.

Read the full article at Huffington Post.

Loneliness, which Emily Dickinson described as “the Horror not to be surveyed,” is a quiet devastation. But in Britain, it is increasingly being viewed as something more: a serious public health issue deserving of public funds and national attention.

Read the full article at The New York Times.

In what ways do the “retirement” years provide new opportunities for creative, purposeful activity?

In recent years, scholars have been finding that positive, focused intentions can make all the difference for people in terms of activity, success and life fulfillment. For example, Stanford University psychologist Bill Damon has demonstrated various ways that youth can be encouraged to explore positive purpose in their lives and the effects it has on early life: better relationships, better health and better academic achievement.

But is a focus on exploring positive purpose beneficial only for the young?

Read the full article at Next Avenue.