One of the greatest powers that the Lord God gave to mankind was the ability to name ( Genesis 2:20 ). Naming is vital because it identifies and orders. Those are key abilities to function in life and key abilities to pilgrimage thru death in a peaceful way. When something is unidentified and un-defined it is limitless in it’s ability to terrify. The most terrifying monsters are those that exert power but remain beyond our grasp to fathom. Remember those old maps with parts of the globe that had not been explored and named. Terra Incognito they called those regions, and there nearly always was a dragon illustrated in the blank space, and there was a deep sense of fear and foreboding attached. We often do the same thing in regards death and dying; we refuse to name it for what it is and often refuse to define it. Think of how little we actually use the word “death” in conversion. Think of what happens when someone does use it; a chill descends upon the conversation and thoughts cannot engage the topic but must swiftly ponder something other. Or think about how little we actually do serious thinking about death in the course of life and thus when we approach it we are approaching something entirely undefined and little fathomed in it’s nuances. Yet even though we achieve momentary comfort by these avoidance strategies we actually suffer more anxiety and terror when it actually comes to dying, and precisely because we have not named and have not thought about death.
On the other hand when something is named we draw a boundary around it and say it is this and not that and not everything but a particular thing. It becomes a known commodity and it has limits and even though it may be fearful to us nevertheless it is not a limitless undefined and chaotic fear, and so is easier to deal with. Think about it, in all those horror movies and movies about demons what is the first step to deal with it? Yes that is right, it is to name it. After that takes place things begin to look more hopeful. And by naming it we take the first step to normalizing it, and making it part of what it means to be alive, and not an extraordinary thing, and so likewise are we better able to deal with it.
Now of course naming death does not mean you have to call it by that word. What death is may be reflected by the name you give. Names such as “passed on” are popular because they imply that a person simply moves from one state of living to another, for example. Use your own name.