Entries by Helena Dolny

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LIVE BY DESIGN | Obituaries: When, if ever, is it okay to speak ill of the dead?

Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis, wrote almost a century ago: “We assume a special attitude towards the dead, something like admiration for one who has accomplished a very difficult feat. We suspend criticism of him, overlooking whatever wrongs he may have done.” The English aphorisms “of the dead, speak no evil” […]

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LIVE BY DESIGN | The liberating power of forgiveness

There is a Zulu hymn that goes: “Zonk’ izono maziphele (Let all our sins be erased) Inhliziyo zibe ngcwele (And our hearts made Holy)  Yiza ungithethelele (Come and mediate for me)  O Nkosi yam’ (Oh my Lord)  It’s a chorus often sung on different occasions, whether by those seeking forgiveness or at Christian-officiated funerals, as […]