I’ve driven or walked by the Zen Center hundreds of times, but I had no idea they had a hospice program as well. Until I saw Wendy McNaughton’s lovely portraits on her Instagram feed; she’s an artist-in-residence there.
Walk through the front door of the Guest House, as the project’s rambling Victorian home is known, and smell the strong coffee brewing or the homemade chocolate cookies cooling in the kitchen. The cookies aren’t just a nicety. According to Dr. B.J. Miller, the organization’s executive director, piquing the senses is a key strategy to dying well. “No future necessary when you’re in the moment,” he says.
Next up: reading this California Sunday piece on the Zen Hospice Project’s partnership with IDEO.