Hello, my name is Margaret (Maggie) Morris, founder of Whispers of Wisdom. My spiritual path began as a child but changed considerably in 2017 after the death of my mother.
Now understanding the meaning of empath, as a young child I easily picked up on the emotions of others. I remember my father telling my mother that I was much too emotional and that she needed to toughen me up. I believe who we are meant to be is given to us as we are formed in our mother’s womb. Whether we live up to that is left up to many circumstances and our own free will.
Jumping forward
In 2014, I became a Volunteer with Hospice Niagara. It was a few years before that when we moved to the North end of St. Catharines that I felt a ‘calling’ to Hospice. I used to have to drive by the building on my way to and from work, each time it was as if hands were coming from the building beckoning me to come. It became so strong that there were times I drove a different route just to avoid the feelings. I remember the volunteer coordinator asking, ‘why do you want to volunteer here’, I laughed, and said you may find it strange but something is calling me here. She laughed as well, as this was not the first time she had heard this answer. And that is how my Journey with Hospice began.
My Mother
For my whole life my mother and I were very close. As I grew older and married with children, we grew into friends. It just seemed normal after my father left her that she would come to live with me. We built a basement apartment for her in our home. When a traumatic event caused me to suddenly become a single parent, she was a Godsend. When I returned to work to support my children, she was there when they came home from school. Her love and support was so valuable to me.
It only seemed normal when she was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure that it was my turn to care for her. I became her major caregiver, her support system, her comfort zone. I was her world.
The journey to her death on September 11, 2017 at 4:20 a.m. was one of the most difficult, yet powerful, life changing events of my life.
It was during this time that I heard about Death Doula’s and I knew in my soul that was a path I would be on before very long. I felt the need in the community. The death of a loved one is one of the most difficult emotional stages in life, yet most have no training in dying. As a matter of fact, most don’t even want to discuss it. It becomes a journey that many people are forced to forge through alone and without support. A Death Doula can change that and I knew that was my calling. I knew that was why way back in 2014, I was feeling that calling to volunteer at Hospice. That was to be my training wheels for this new journey. Here it is 2019 and I am about to launch into what feeds my soul.
And so my eagle takes flight
In struggling to find a name for my Death Doula Business, the answer came in this blanket my sister made me for Christmas 2018. Such a special gift as the backside is made of my mother’s clothing. Special thanks to the pattern designer, Leanne Anderson, from The Whole Country Caboodle info@thewholecountrycaboodle.com, for granting permission of use.
