In the Midst of Life

It seems everyone is so afraid of death nowadays. Once, what was to be a community ritual to respect the dead, those now turn their backs; unwilling to accept the bereavement and display of grief by the loved ones who mourn.
The dead are at peace, they do not care for what they have left behind, they are ... Well, wherever you believe they are: Heaven, the after life, or maybe you don't believe anything... Maybe you have not needed to think what happens after we die, and therefore ignorant to it. I, however, think of it daily. Losing someone- many people in fact- to death, means it is part of my every day life. I am not afraid of it, and I often share my wonders of Christopher's departing and I am often looked upon with pity. The way I have handled my grief, not many understand; I have been open- some regard it as too much so, and therefore they have recoiled in shock, ignorance and denial. But I digress, in one's disapproval.
I have been reading Jennifer Worth's books (Call the Midwife, In the Midst of Life) and I am intrigued by the ways of life, the standards of care that were in place and the contrasts between then and now, and disturbingly how some things are still the same in many places around the world, today in 2014.
"The good old days" are something many people go on about, as if it was perfect and nothing could ever go wrong. Some will fiercely disregard the fact anything could possibly be better now, than it was then. On the contrary and more than one cares to admit, the world has changed for the better in so many ways. Of course, there are the standards in things such as health care, that there are bits we should go back to like bringing back Matron, the strict practices that ensure nurses and doctors alike would carry out their jobs properly and with the highest regard for their patients. I'm not saying their weren't any faults back then, of course not. But those who had their training on the job, and not in colleges definitely had a better understanding and level of care, contrary to the graduates who go in to nurses thinking they are above doing bedpans.
As always I have drifted quite off subject and reluctant to carry on. Have a good day.