What should I do about my brother who's in a coma? Is he still himself? How can I help him? Should I take him off life support?
Alžběta and her brother, who was in a coma, spoke with Oleg Vojtíšek
Our job is to tell the stories of people’s lives. To celebrate them, pass on their messages, and help with saying goodbye. But for today’s episode, we’re struggling to find the right words.
It's about someone who is no longer alive, but isn't quite dead yet.
Alžběta’s brother was a handsome, young man with his whole life ahead of him. A single second and a fall at a construction site changed everything. Since that day, Alžběta has thought of nothing else but how to help her brother. At first, it was about saving him—and, in a way, a miracle. It was about finding the best of the best. Because when your skull is in one hospital and your body is in another, you’re teetering on the edge of the unimaginable.
But his desperate struggle for life gradually turned into the opposite: a struggle over how to end his life so he would no longer suffer. Unfortunately, a young, healthy body is unlikely to give out on its own.
Is it even possible to find hope in such darkness?
What is it like to stand face to face with the empty eyes of a loved one staring at you?
And how is it possible that keeping someone in this condition costs the government millions of crowns a month, yet insurance companies refuse to cover home care, which is slightly less expensive?
Sharing such painful stories helps not only the family, but also everyone who finds themselves—or may one day find themselves—on the brink of a similar abyss. We are therefore immensely grateful to Alžběta for opening the door to a story full of tragedy and systemic absurdities, but also of incredible strength and reconciliation.
Warning: The details of the accident discussed in the podcast are not suitable for the faint of heart.
What is it like when someone comes to inform you of the death of a loved one? The person who rings your doorbell might be police crisis intervention specialist PhDr. David Ondráček, MBA.
Police crisis intervention specialist PhDr. David Ondráček, MBA, spoke with Oleg Vojtíšek.
My husband left for work this morning by car. A few hours later, the doorbell rings. You open the door: the police are standing there, delivering news that will change your life forever.
What exactly happens when someone comes to tell you that a loved one has passed away?
PhDr. David Ondráček, MBA, a police crisis intervention specialist, deals with the worst cases: tragedies, murders, and suicides. When he isn’t investigating them, he has only one task: to devote himself to his family and be there for them.
In those most urgent moments shortly after a death, it is he who rings your doorbell. But before that happens, he may very well “test the waters” — to see how you’ll react. To see if he’ll scare you, if he should be more afraid of you, or if you’ll try to run away.
But no matter what your history with the police may be, it's his job to break the news to you and reassure you during the worst of times.
Why should families learn about a death from a crisis counselor rather than from social media, the media, or friends?
How do you break this news to the children?
Can the police make sure they let you see the body one last time?
Police crisis intervention team members are all volunteers from among active-duty police officers. They have practical experience, but at the same time, they care deeply about what happens to the “collateral” victims of tragedies: the bereaved.
Listen to our podcast with David Ondráček about how and when the police (don't) help.
The First 48 Hours: The Power We Handed Over to the System: Oleg Vojtíšek, Olga Nešporová, Magdalena Ondrová, Barbora Steinlauf
At a funeral, we can write messages on the coffin.
Dad has died. And now, quickly: call a doctor, search the internet for the nearest funeral service, and have them pick him up as soon as possible. First thing in the morning, go arrange the funeral at a branch office, ideally before work. Order wreaths, put together a death notice, choose a coffin from a catalog. That is what the most classic 48 hours after a death look like.
Olga Nešporová, an ethnologist from the Czech Academy of Sciences, notes: "People have stopped being used to caring for the dying. We don't know what to do with the deceased, and we are afraid of their physicality and potential changes."
A dead human body is not biological waste, however. As our Oleg nicely puts it: "A dead person no longer breathes, coughs, or sneezes. Bacteria may be there, but they love our living 36 degrees. If you weren't afraid to touch them in life, there is no reason to pull away now." The first few hours after death belong to you and them, not to funeral attendants.
Magdalena Ondrová from the hospice adds practical examples: in hospices, it is normal for nurses to help the family wash, dress, and generally prepare the body. Sometimes the family wants to style the hair, other times give them something to take along on their journey. And sometimes someone just needs a phone consultation on how to do it.
All three experts across fields agree on the same thing: we are afraid of death and we are afraid of the dead body. Yet caring for it can help us immensely. The deceased is already calm, nothing hurts them, and you have them fully in your hands. That peace transfers to you when you give yourself the chance. To say goodbye, do them a final service, and care for them one last time. And only then let them go.
If you want to learn more about the first 48 hours after a death—what your rights are and what no one is allowed to forbid you—read Klára Nesitová's interview with our Oleg, as well as Olga Nešporová, Magdalena Ondrová, and healthcare attorney Barbora Steinlauf.
Would you like a tree to grow from your body? And did you know that isn't possible here? Ekonews reports on the conference Together for Terramation
Jörg Litwinschuh-Barthel on the legalization of terramation
Would you like a tree to grow from your body? And did you know that isn't possible here?
Well, not quite: here, any tree burial must be preceded by cremation. So only your ashes are poured around the tree. And since ashes are mostly phosphorus and calcium, the tree mostly just tolerates you rather than being helped to grow by you.
(A rarer exception is, of course, cemeteries where trees were planted and then allowed to grow so wildly that their roots grew through the graves. No one can be newly buried there in a coffin without cutting down the tree, but it's proof that it is possible – when there's a will!)
But how to make it actually possible? How to truly transform into useful soil that gives rise to a tree? And how to do it within dozens of days, when a body normally takes decades to decompose?
This is what the German company Meine Erde looked into. They came up with a "cradle" where a deceased person's body decomposes in 40 days through natural processes: moisture, warmth, and gentle movement. Once the process is finished, you are left with terramate – soil, earth, in which a tree can theoretically be planted.
Except: even in such a progressive country as Germany, this soil must be transported to a cemetery and buried several meters deep.
And now the crucial question – can we do this here as well?
No funeral home has the technology (the cradle) to do this yet. But we don't see any problem with that: we can arrange the transport of the deceased to Germany, and then the transport of the terramate back to us. We will take care of the necessary paperwork.
However, it would be completely ideal without transport and without issues with our laws. This is what the Last Trace association, led by Adam Vokáč, is striving for.
The ministry's statement reads (among other things): "Ecological criteria and moral sentiments can diverge significantly, while in the field of burial and handling human remains, a violation of the public's moral sentiment is judged as a potential offense under the Burial Act."
So what do you think? Is it an offense? Is it an ecological problem? Is it a violation of public moral sentiment in a place where, according to the ministry, cremation is not considered such a violation?
Read the article by Irena Buřívalová on Ekonews about the conference organized by Adam Vokáč and the Last Trace association, which was also attended by our Oleg Vojtíšek:
Every depression can be cured – says Jiří Horáček, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health
Oleg Vojtíšek spoke with Prof. MUDr. Jiří Horáček, Ph.D., FCMA, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology at the 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, and Head of the Center for Advanced Studies of Brain and Consciousness at NIMH.
"I have a terminal diagnosis," says a caller on the phone who wants to arrange a funeral. But their "diagnosis" is suicidal intentions.
What next? Police, a stay in a psychiatric hospital, medication. And many people are afraid of that. Yet modern psychiatry is no longer what we know from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
That is why we invited the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, Prof. MUDr. Jiří Horáček, Ph.D., FCMA, to our podcast.
According to him, EVERY depression is curable sooner or later. That is why stories ending in suicide are so extremely sad: because we know a cure exists, it just needs time.
The critical window is two weeks from starting antidepressants: depression masks its "host" by taking away the energy to do anything at all. Antidepresants give them this energy, but it's not enough time to heal the root of the depression – that "existential weight."
What is the relationship between the economy and suicide? And are certain nations more prone to suicide, perhaps due to their geographical location?
Is the fear of death as old as humanity itself? In what ways is the "longevity" lifestyle actually naive?
Why do psychedelics work?
Listen to our Funeral Guides podcast on Spotify and other platforms!
A podcast about people who forgot how to die: with nurse Veronika Effenbergerová
Veronika Effenbergerová and Oleg Vojtíšek recording a podcast at "Ucho"
"When they are still able to perceive the world around them, the moment I pick up a syringe and open the tube of artificial nutrition to prepare it, they already turn their eyes away so they don't have to see it."
Such is the reality of people who spend their final days bedridden, hooked up to tubes. Being unaware, or perhaps even in a coma, might be the better option. Some of them, while they still can, even attempt suicide: yet families insist on resuscitation, even when the heart begins to fail naturally.
Why? Because they want to keep them alive for another month or two. In life, a person only has to do two things: be born and die. "Forgetting how to die" is perhaps the worst nightmare of us all.
Nurse Veronika Effenbergerová has witnessed countless such cases in nursing homes. She is the very person who might one day care (or perhaps already cares) for your parents. And she herself asks families, "Why won't you let him die?"
What drives families to keep a person on life support when there is no longer any chance of recovery and a return to an active life?
Where does love for another end and self-love—that overprotective kind—begin?
Is death healthy?
We discussed this with nurse Veronika Effenbergerová in our podcast. You definitely shouldn't miss this: it's not often you get a glimpse behind the scenes of what happens in nursing homes, especially since many people are afraid to even walk through their doors.
Vojta Náprstek: Threats of being boiled alive, the beginnings of cremation, and a spectacular funeral at a railway station. With Pavla Hubáčková from the Náprstek Museum.
Pavla Hubáčková from the Náprstek Museum talks with Sandra Šindelářová in a podcast about the funeral of Vojta Náprstek.
How did we go from threats of being boiled alive to becoming a cremation superpower?
One hundred and fifty years ago, burials took place solely in the ground here. And everyone strongly opposed cremation.
Today, over 80% of funerals in our country are cremations. And yet everyone opposes human composting, also known as teramation. Who knows what it will look like in a hundred years?
Do you know the story of the person who actually pushed for cremation here? Vojta Náprstek was not only one of the first feminists (he founded the American Ladies Club, where he promoted education for women), but also one of the first Czechs to be cremated despite the opposition of both the church and society.
His decision was backed by science: it was supposedly more hygienic, more economical, and cleaner—at a time when graves were regularly robbed and dead bodies sold to young medical students for practice.
We talked (not only) about him with Pavla Hubáčková from the Náprstek Museum in our podcast, and if you also want to know how we got from threats about boiled bullets to the majority choosing cremation, be sure to listen to us!
And definitely make sure to visit the Náprstek Museum this April, where his urn is on display again (as per his wish)!
Have you heard of POST-MORTEM accompaniment? Josef Šťastný and I have ventured into the waters of Buddhism and the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
Josef Šťastný hosts a podcast about post-mortem accompaniment for the deceased.
We guide the dying before death and the bereaved after death. But for someone to guide the dying (meaning those who have already passed away) even after death—that was a first for us.
Josef Šťastný focuses precisely on this: his approach is rooted in Tibetan Buddhism. In very simplified terms, he finds the soul of the deceased in the so-called bardo (an intermediate state between death and rebirth) and helps it find the right path.
The goal is, in his own words, "to improve the future direction of the deceased by a few percent." Because, let's not forget, Buddhism believes in the reincarnation (rebirth) of the soul. Does that mean being born into a richer family? Or not being reincarnated as an animal?
For many of us who have ever watched a cat or a dog, perhaps living our next life as an animal would actually be more peaceful...
And can we really help those who did terrible evil during their lives? A high school shooter, for example? Do their souls deserve "salvation"—or, as Josef Šťastný calls it, being "wrapped in light"?
We are in the year 2026, which in numerology corresponds to the number one: a year of new beginnings, preceded by a year full of changes and endings. Post-mortem accompaniment similarly begins even before death: in changing one's life, life priorities, and turning inward. What comes after death is then merely a continuation of a journey already begun, one on which you can be accompanied.
A podcast for anyone curious about what awaits us after death: whether truly nothing, God, or Josef Šťastný!
Oleg Vojtíšek: A funeral should help, not harm: An interview in Ľudia a Zem magazine
Oleg Vojtíšek and Adam Krecl, article author
An interview full of questions. And answers.
What is your relationship with death? I assume that after all your experience, you aren't afraid.
Was the idea of founding a funeral service driven by any negative experiences?
On the contrary, your organization also features young female guides. How do they handle a profession where age plays a role?
What skills does a person need to master to become a funeral guide?
Is death still a taboo in Czech society, or is the situation improving?
Do you have any experience with funerals abroad?
Is there a country whose funeral rituals you would like to see with your own eyes?
Where do you look for inspiration for funeral formats in the Czech Republic?
Are you succeeding in transforming Czech mourning rituals?
Your website features the phrase "a good funeral." What does a good funeral mean?
That reminds me of Mexico, where people believe that the departed stay among us...
During my studies in social anthropology, I also came across the Indian ritual of sati, where a widow is ritually burned alive with her husband's body. Have you ever witnessed anything like that?
Can you personally help the bereaved with grieving after the funeral?
People often embark on journeys during major life changes. Can you also prepare a symbolic journey for the bereaved?
You also offer burials in a natural woodland cemetery. How did you come up with that idea?
Why should I choose a woodland burial instead of a traditional city cemetery?
Do people come to you asking to hold a funeral a second time?
What types of funerals are currently the most popular among the bereaved?
Do people plan their own funerals in advance?
As a funeral guide, which part of the process do you find the most difficult?
How can I prepare myself for death?
Can aromatherapy help us die well? Care well? Grieve? Ludmila Kotalíková and Oleg Vojtíšek
Ludmila Kotalíková, aromatherapist
What scent comes to mind when you think of home? 🏡
And what scent comes to mind when you think of spring, the sea, a holiday at grandma's, or mom's pie? 🥧
🧴Have you ever thought that you might never smell some of those scents again in your life? If you had the chance, would you want to return to those moments?
And what if you could do it even before death?
🎙️ Ludmila Kotalíková, aromatherapist and founder of Aromadoteky, has accepted our invitation to the podcast!🎙️
🌿 Aromatherapy in palliative care is not just about a "nice scent".
It is about memory, emotions, safety, and returning home – even if only in the mind.
When the dying person no longer has words, but still feels... 🤲
💭 How to use scents and touch to bring comfort to someone who is dying?
🌿 Where should you even begin with aromatherapy in palliative care?
🥀Which oils to use for calming, better sleep, or conversely for encouragement, warming up, cooling down, acid reflux, constipation, and a dry mouth?
➡️ You can listen to the full interview in our podcast
How not to fear death? It is easier than it seems. Tips for overcoming fear from a funeral guide
The fear of death can be eased
Want to know how to overcome the fear of death? It's easier than you think: Just accept it. Give it a symbolic kiss of acceptance. That's our secret trick. All those anxieties and that nagging feeling that things are out of your control? Most of the fear of death disappears once you understand and accept that it's simply part of the package called life.
Our Oleg Vojtíšek wrote an article for Vlasta magazine, where he talks in a popular and simple way about things like:
1. Talk about death
2. A funeral is your last big project
3. Want peace of mind? Talk to the pros!
4. Leave a message
5. Annual check-up
6. Live every day as if it were your last
7. You can practice for the death of a loved one
Go ahead and read it. Maybe it will inspire you.
Scatterings in the forest and at sea. Forbes podcast, Oleg Vojtíšek with Julie Mahlerová
Oleg Vojtíšek recorded a Forbes podcast with Julie Mahlerová
"If we don't hold a funeral, the deceased will come back to haunt us," people used to say.
Don't believe in ghosts? You don't have to. The deceased can "haunt" our own souls. By telling ourselves, "I should have told them, now it's too late." By never truly saying goodbye, leaving an unwritten chapter inside us—a gaping wound that no one has stitched up.
That is what funerals are for. They are meant to help us bridge the period of life with a loved one who is suddenly no longer here.
But death needs a little love, too. And our Oleg Vojtíšek discussed how to do that with Julie Mahlerová from Forbes in the podcast How to Be Better.
So go listen to it, and feel better too :)
Where to find hope? Former Evangelical pastor Jaroslav Pechar and Oleg Vojtíšek
Former Evangelical pastor Jaroslav Pechar and Oleg Vojtíšek
"At our mother's funeral, the pastor preached about some whore."
Or, to put it another way, whether humor belongs in funeral sermons was just one of the topics we discussed with former Protestant pastor and priest Jaroslav Pechar.
Is a funeral for the person who died, or for those left behind? Should we plan it the way the deceased would have liked? Or in a way that helps the grieving family? Or should it focus more on God and the hope of eternal life?
Many of us imagine that if a eulogy makes even the toughest guys cry, it's the highest form of praise. But... what if it brought you a sense of relief instead? What if it made you feel lighter, lifted the weight of guilt, or even brought a smile to your face? Is the goal of a funeral to break down and cry over death, or to celebrate a life? What does Father Pechar say? (Spoiler: at his funerals, people share stories, play the guitar, and stay long after the service ends!)
"Death is an enemy that wins battles, but never wins the war."
Where do we look for hope when we are dying? Especially if we aren't particularly religious?
Father Pechar can't answer what comes after death, and neither can any church, but he does know what isn't there: there is no darkness and emptiness, because a helping hand is waiting. That is the greatest hope the church offers after death.
And just as God, according to the church, extends a hand to the deceased, priests like Father Pechar extend a hand to the bereaved. Not with holy water or a magic wand. But with words and stories. And sometimes by answering the phone at one in the morning.
Listen to his stories and jokes in our podcast on Spotify.
"In heaven, we'll be surprised by three things: who is there, who isn't there, and how on earth we managed to get in ourselves."
What needs to happen so that quality palliative care becomes the standard rather than a matter of luck? Jiří Krejčí from Pallium shares his thoughts.
Jiří Krejčí, founder of the Pallium Institute
"Let's change the reality for people facing serious illness and grief, so that life feels more bearable for them" – this is the vision of Jiří Krejčí from Pallium.
Ten years ago, almost no one in our country focused on palliative care. Yet in another decade, we might even have a system that truly cares about the needs of the dying and responds to them.
And this is happening thanks to Pallium, an organization that supports palliative care professionals and strives to make it better. Their goal is to ensure that quality palliative care is a standard, not just a matter of luck.
But how do we achieve that?
For instance, hospital palliative care teams often lack anyone dedicated solely to the bereaved: everyone tries to help in some way, but it falls outside their primary specialization and usually exceeds their available time.
Police crisis support workers are not allowed to recommend paid services – such as grief counselors, therapists, and the like. As a result, many people don't even realize that support is available to them.
One solution is to find a way to fund grief support through public resources. Another is to involve volunteers who could facilitate self-help groups for the bereaved.
How can people who are grieving help others?
Do people even know what options they have when facing the end of life?
And can we truly provide effective support to palliative care patients and their families?
This episode of our podcast is aimed primarily at professionals. So, let's see – how many listeners do we have working in palliative care? Join our host Oleg Vojtíšek and Jiří Krejčí from Pallium on Spotify!
PHOTO: 2nd Annual Awards of the Government Commissioner for Human Rights
Klára Brázdová and Oleg: Is grief chaos? Or is it wandering through a forest? And is a funeral a dialogue?
Klára Brázdová and Oleg Vojtíšek recording a podcast on a green roof above Prague
The deafening silence after someone passes away.
And we don't mean suddenly finding yourself home alone. We mean the silence that creeps in gradually: when, after the death of a loved one, you receive countless messages, so much attention, questions, and love... and then it suddenly fades away.
Suddenly, those around you decide it is time to move on. But you are not there yet.
As a psychotherapist, Klára Brázdová frequently works with the bereaved, and both our work and hers have a lot in common!
As a funeral service, we often weigh how much we should do for our clients: as a service provider, we want to deliver as much as possible. However, grief is a very specific matter. People need to be guided so they can step into their grief themselves - such as by helping prepare the funeral. Therapy works in a very similar way.
Klára says she appreciates that we maintain a dialogue with the bereaved. A dialogue about what they want and how they want it. What is actually possible. A dialogue about the deceased, what they would have wished for, and what the family desires. People are often afraid to talk to them about this. Grieving people are fully competent, and we should not treat them like children.
Why is it not a good idea to follow "expert" stages of grief?
How are grief and wandering through a forest similar?
And why is it nice to take a trip to Nepal after a funeral?
In our podcast, Oleg discussed grief with psychotherapist Klára Brázdová, and if this relates to you, you will definitely want to listen!
Barbora Steinlauf: Do you have the right to a peaceful death?
"I don't want to live anymore, just let me die…" Has a dying person ever said this to you? Do they have the right to die in peace? Can you answer that?
Barbora Steinlauf and Oleg Vojtíšek recording a podcast at dusk over Prague
Probably not. And most doctors probably wouldn't either.
The healthcare legal system is lagging far behind when it comes to dying: for a long time, it was built primarily to protect doctors and support them in case of unlawful actions. However, Barbora Steinlauf, as a healthcare lawyer, is going in the opposite direction—she protects the rights of the dying and strives to raise awareness about what a person is entitled to during the dying process.
If you cannot answer these questions, you should definitely listen to the podcast recorded by our Oleg with Barbora Steinlauf:
What should you do if someone is dying in the hospital and you feel they are not being treated well? And what if you suspect they died due to a hospital mistake?
Is a signed piece of paper really enough for informed consent?
When you refuse medical care, do you also lose access to palliative care?
And overall... where does euthanasia (assisted dying) stand in the context of Czech law?
And we're still not done: Barbora has also newly launched the End of Life project. Let your family know how you wish to die when you can no longer make decisions for yourself. Or take a look there to see how to even approach having a conversation about this with someone who is dying.
“Philosophizing is a rehearsal for death,” says Plato’s Socrates, speaking through the Czech philosopher Tereza Matějčková.
We also (modestly) got a little philosophical and practiced dying in our new podcast. During the Christmas season, we’re often troubled by loneliness—but according to some philosophers, loneliness is a luxury of the modern age. Why?
Because it’s a chance to live your life on your own terms, rather than according to others. To act authentically for yourself, regardless of the wishes of your family or society. “To follow your own truth.”
But be careful not to confuse this with isolation: that, on the contrary, is the result of our breaking free from family ties. After all, as Georg Simmel said, it is only modern man who is beginning to die—precisely because he is aware of his individuality and finitude. He does not see himself as a mere continuation of his lineage.
According to Hegel, it may ultimately be the funeral itself that brings us back into the community. And if we fail to hold it, we harm ourselves: for in doing so, we undermine our own community and our own sense of belonging.
And last but not least: it has always been interesting to philosophy that humans don’t merely “fail” like other animals, but in some way take charge of that failure. We often say that we’re fighting something—whether it’s other people or diseases. But we go even further. We learn from these experiences and correct past mistakes. We hurt ourselves, but at the same time we forgive ourselves and grow from the experience.
We grow through conflicts, and family conflicts are what “shape us together” and bring us all closer. And at Christmas, this is more evident than ever.
So, if you want to take a moment this Christmas season to gather your thoughts, find some peace, reflect, and escape the hustle and bustle of modern life, Tereza Matějčková recommends philosophy. And you can start with our podcast featuring Tereza herself!
Search for us on Spotify:
DVTV: A funeral should begin on a sad note and end on a happy one. Oleg Vojtíšek in an interview with Daniela Drtinová
The Czechs have pushed death aside.
When we appear on various media outlets, we get asked similar questions over and over again by the hosts:
Are most deaths really without a funeral? (A large percentage are.)
What does a traditional Czech funeral look like? (There isn't one.)
How Do Funeral Services Work? (Some Are Better, Some Are Worse)
What can you do with ashes? (Basically anything, but with respect and with permission)
Everything points to the fact that death is a taboo subject in the Czech Republic; there are plenty of myths circulating about it, and in reality, most people have no idea what happens after a dead body is discovered.
That’s why we’re glad to see Ms. Drtinová on DVTV genuinely seeking the truth, discussing ethics in the funeral industry, and helping us unravel this great mystery that surrounds death and burial.
“No one is afraid of getting pregnant just by talking about sex, but when people start talking about death, everyone is afraid they’ll bring it on,” said our Oleg.
So if you, too, don’t want everything to just run its course after the death of a loved one, start preparing now. For example, by watching us on DVTV.
Close Encounters: Tereza Kostková and Oleg Vojtíšek, Czech Radio: We’ve Shielded Young People from Death
😱“Are most deaths here really without a funeral?!” Tereza Kostková asked in astonishment on the program *Blízká setkání* on ČRo Dvojka, where our Oleg was a guest.
We often see people who still break down in tears even twenty years after the death of a loved one.🥀 Without a funeral, you won’t be able to find closure, and it will torment you for the rest of your life—especially if the death was sudden and unexpected.
The reasons vary: from traumatic experiences at the crematorium to financial considerations. And sometimes it’s also due to a well-intentioned idea that actually leads to disaster—so as not to traumatize children 👶. We’ve raised an entire generation of people who have completely blocked out the idea of death. And when it does eventually hit them, the impact is all the worse and more profound. 🔪
So how can we conduct funerals with integrity?
🏡A beautiful spot that will lift your spirits.
👨👨👦👦On a day that works for everyone who should be at the funeral and wants to be there.
💌So that it can help you let go of your guilt or finally say what you’d otherwise keep thinking about over and over again.
Burning messages or sending them via balloons or paper boats is not esoteric at all. On the contrary, it is a very tangible and easily understandable way to bring our relationship with the deceased to a close and then watch as they leave us—because that is the reality. ⚫
👂If you want to explore the topic of Czech funerals the way Tereza Kostková did, tune in to our show “Blízká setkání” on Český Rozhlas.
A Beautiful Funeral? Yes, It's Possible. By Oleg Vojtíšek for Marianne magazine.
To borrow the words of Oleg Vojtíšek, their organization strives to transform something that was perceived as depressing, bad, and terrible into something beautiful that helps and brings reconciliation.
"Fortunately, today you can organize a memorial service however you like," says Oleg Vojtíšek, founder of Pohřební průvodci, in an interview with Marianne magazine. Those who have done so all agree that it was a beautiful experience.
“A personalized funeral helps,” says Oleg Vojtíšek, founder of Pohřební průvodci, an association that helps bereaved families organize a more personalized final farewell for their loved ones, confirming my assumption.
“It should take place at a location connected to that person—somewhere they loved or where we want to go to remember them. For example, by a river, in a park, or at a villa.”
"With the people he loved and who loved him—or even those who didn't, but who want to make peace," he continues.
“What brings me the greatest joy is that people come up with their own ideas about where the ceremony will take place and what will happen during it, and they call us with a specific vision, which we simply help them refine and bring to life. The result is truly their own ceremony—a personal one that reflects how the deceased lived and how they lived with him or her,” she notes optimistically.