"Powerful Portraits Of Individuals Before And Directly After Their Death"

[AllenVanAllen]

What do we leave behind. This reminds me. I need to smile more.



http://www.featureshoot.com/2014/09/walter-schels/

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. These are truly marvelous, my dear AllenVanAllen!

I don't really have the words for just how good these portraits are.

Thank you for sharing them with us.

[AllenVanAllen]

5. thank you

my dear peggy.

[Xipe Totec]

2. 21 grams

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21_Grams

[AllenVanAllen]

6. rotten tomatoes gives it an 80%

i'll have to check it out. i trust rotten tomatoes. yeah, i just said that.
thank you!

[orleans]

3. this brought me to tears:

"I never paid any attention to clouds before. Now I see everything from a totally different perspective: every cloud outside my window, every flower in the vase. Suddenly, everything matters.”

Name: Wolfgang Kotzahn
Age: 57
Born: 19th January 1947
Died: 4th February 2004, at Leuchtfeuer Hospice, Hamburg

his words "suddenly, everything matters" is lingering, haunting almost, it's poetry, and devastating, inspiring, emotionally explosive, and a glimpse into the divine.

"suddenly, everything matters" is how life should always be, is never how life is because we haven't got the time in our adult-minded day-to-day; it is how life was when we were children and, for some of us, how life becomes when given the time to contemplate our soon-to-be departure from all that surrounds us.

his words--"suddenly, everything matters"--makes me weep

[AllenVanAllen]

4. "suddenly, everything matters"

yes, it's makes you weep because it's beautiful. profound truths always are.

[brer cat]

7. These are quite stunning, AllenVanAllen.

The relaxation of the face gives such a peaceful appearance. It could truly make one fear death less to look at these remarkable photos. The artist is to be commend for undertaking this project. Thank you for sharing.

[AllenVanAllen]

9. thank you for stopping by to check them out, brer cat.

i felt i had to share.

[riderinthestorm]

8. I was transfixed! Studied every one. Thanks for this, they are amazing nt

[AllenVanAllen]

10. thank you riderinthestorm!

love your name by the way.

[sakabatou]

11. Michael Lauermann looks like he's smiling

[AllenVanAllen]

12. he does sakabatou.

i hope to have a smile burned onto my face by the time i'm done with this body.

[Curmudgeoness]

13. That was so powerful.

All the stories were moving. But this really hit me because of the truth in it:

“No one asks me how I feel”, says Heiner Schmitz. “Because they’re all shit scared. I find it really upsetting the way they desperately avoid the subject, talking about all sorts of other things. Don’t they get it? I’m going to die! That’s all I think about, every second when I’m on my own.”

[AllenVanAllen]

14. i think sometimes people just don't know what to say or do. i've found that to be so true

since my wife's suicide even close friends and loved ones seem to not really want know how i really feel or what i'm going through. it does feel like it may be scary for them to hear the answers. i do understand and i love them all.

[Curmudgeoness]

22. I agree. It is difficult to talk about.

I remember when my mother died, and we were very close since she shared the house with me. It was about six months later, and I ran into a man who we knew who is considered mentally handicapped. He gave me a hug and asked me how I was doing with the loss, and I realized that this was the first time anyone had asked me how I was doing, or seemed willing to know. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciated that, and it gave me a new respect for this man and for how little credit we give to the mentally challenged. It also has made me be the one who will always ask how someone is doing. It matters. It is such a small thing to do, but rare as hen's teeth.

I am sorry that you lost your wife. That must have been devastating to you.

[AllenVanAllen]

24. thank you so much Curmudgeoness

she died shy of our 20 year anniversary. we were married 18 years and it's been the hardest 5 months of my life. there have been little things, small acts of kindness from loved ones and strangers that have helped me through. the pain has been more than anyone should ever have to take but i'm still flyin. i still have hope in this place.

i'm sorry for your loss. that we shared such love with them makes us lucky. thank you.

[magical thyme]

15. “Everything that’s not real is stripped away,” he told The Guardian,

“You’re the most real you’ll ever be, more than you’ve ever been before.”

Jan Anderson, in particular, has such a beautiful, gentle smile.

Thank you for posting this.

[AllenVanAllen]

16. thank you magical thyme

[Skittles]

17. my mum died of cancer but she looked like she was sleeping

Last edited Thu Oct 9, 2014, 11:06 PM - Edit history (1)

she didn't look any different at all to me, and that is good

[AllenVanAllen]

18. to see her peace reflected in a tangible way...

i could see how that would bring a measure of comfort.

i'm sorry for your loss skittles

[Skittles]

19. aw thanks

she was a Brit who had been so looking forward to the royal wedding (2011) and just missed it - we kept the TV on in her room and I like to think somewhere deep in her brain she could sense it

[AllenVanAllen]

20. i would suppose no matter what state were in we can feel love.

i like to believe love's a natural universal force, just like life.

[joshdawg]

21. Peace. They finally found peace.

And it shows in their countenance. I saw it first-hand in my Mom in January of 2013. She was 90.
Thank you so much for these photos.
I especially liked the comment of one of the posters so much I had to repost it here:

"Parents procreate and therefore will death upon their offspring. I have to die someday simply because my parents chose to breed. The best way to avoid death is to prevent birth. I dislike death so much that I've chosen to never will it on another human being by imposing the death sentence of life. Also, neuter/spay your pets! Life is a horrible wrath to pass down!"

[AllenVanAllen]

25. in the end we all want peace.

i love life even with all this suffering to me it's a fair price to pay to experience the attainable joy of this existence. i still think that even in its darkest depths life is still so miraculously beautiful.

[left-of-center2012]

23. Thanks for sharing

As a retired hospice nurse I've been reading a lot lately about Nearing Death Experiences*
and enjoyed your post very much.

*Experiences people have as they approach death.

[AllenVanAllen]

26. thank you left-of-center2012

thank you for doing such an important line of work. i can scarcely imagine what it might have been like.

[hotrod0808]

27. I took pictures

of my daughter on the table when she died back in March. Her short life on this planet was all machines, alarms, and buzzes. Like prior commenters said, she was at peace. They did not make me feel better, but I just wanted some pics of my baby finally at peace.

[AllenVanAllen]

29. i'm so sorry for your loss hotrod0808

i imagine what's it's like to lose your baby girl. the depth of this pain must be crushing. my heart goes out to you.

[ailsagirl]

28. Very powerful

I like what one man said (in part):

...each day that I have I savor, experiencing life to the full. I never paid any attention to clouds before. Now I see everything from a totally different perspective: every cloud outside my window, every flower in the vase. Suddenly, everything matters.

[AllenVanAllen]

30. i love that ailsagirl

being conscious, awake and aware of all of the beauty here. it's truly a precious gift.

[ailsagirl]

31. It truly is

The problem is that we human beings are almost hard-wired to take things for granted and I believe we need to make a conscious decision to "smell the roses" as we go through life. It's an ongoing project for me but I'm seeing some progress.

And there is so much to be grateful for-- so much.

[AllenVanAllen]

36. "I believe we need to make a conscious decision to "smell the roses"

i think you're right.

and there's this

http://www.theguardian.com/science/neurophilosophy/2014/oct/01/your-nose-knows-death-is-imminent

[defacto7]

32. Very insightful!

There is another group of pictures on that site that show children from around the world showing their most prised possessions. It is also quite moving.

http://www.featureshoot.com/2013/03/photos-of-children-from-around-the-world-with-their-most-prized-possessions/

[AllenVanAllen]

33. thank you defacto7!

i love that series! wonderful find.



thank you!

[Arugula Latte]

34. The little baby looks like she was transformed into a doll in death.

Amazing.

[AllenVanAllen]

35. that's so spot on.

her visage is so doll-like.