Karen Dempsey

Like, that's not real either.

We have to have authentic relationships.

You know, as long as I'm real and authentic every day, that's my main thing.

I also, if I'm doing something that involves risk, I'm like hyper aware that this risk may not go the way that I want it to because I'm holding ceremonies so often in situations that you hear stories and I go...

oh like that is unthinkable that that happened and that's how that person died and when you're in a position where you're repeatedly hearing this most people would only hear one of them every so often you know out there in society when you're hearing them all the time you're exposed to it a lot yeah of course yeah and I hold funerals for people and they really stay with me as well and the nature that they died and I might I'll give you an example I held a funeral for years ago for people who remembered beautiful delivery driver who died during the height of COVID was killed in an accident

And now every time I order food and it is delivered by a courier on a bike, I am grateful to that courier because they are at risk all the time.

And people give out about them scooting between cars and all, but they're doing that to get people their food to them and they're risking their actual lives.

It just kind of gives me a different perspective on how I see things.

And all the people who do various types of work, that involves them putting themselves at risk every day.

are amazing and they absolutely fascinate me and I just love to see people in their zone of genius and their area of expertise and however complex or simple that might be.

How do you cope with that?

That's a big question.

And the big question there that I hear is you don't know how you would cope with it.

Yeah.

Well, that's a beautiful awareness.

So first of all, that's really important because I will never say, no, you wouldn't plow on through it.

That's your number one awareness.

The second part is if you were to say, I don't know how I do it.

I feel like I would get really emotional, upset, but I really want to do it.

If you wanted to, that's the next piece, because I hold trainings for celebrants and a huge part of the training is learning to be with big emotions.