Loss

I'm in shock. I just came across, on facebook, a memorial page for a childhood friend of mine (who, apart from become 'friends' on facebook in the past few months, i hadn't connected with at all for many many years): She passed away from cancer not quite 2 months ago. I'm so out of the loop sometimes. And for someone only 35 to pass away from cancer, well, it's quite sobering... very sobering. Just two weeks after her birthday. So tragic. She leaves behind young children, and all day Tuesday I kept thinking about those children who will now grow up without their mother in their daily lives. I thought of people I know who also lost their mothers when at a tender young age... two different situations, now three.

I keep trying to remember that death is not the end; it's a transformation, a moving from physical to ethereal or spiritual realms. We all become so attached to our physical beings, don't we. Ego. Who needs it, eh. Tends to get in the way of true connection. I have such little direct experience with death - a few older extended family members, generally... sigh.

Today someone whom I'd had a bit of a falling out with, some conflict with, in the past, resurfaced and extended the proverbial olive branch towards reconciliation. Breathing deeply I was able to bring up the conflict and feel like there was some airing of old issues in a healthy way... and hopefully we can now move beyond the conflict... I was so surprised at this person, reaching out in friendship... reminded me of a story the kids & i read last night in the book "Tibetan Tales for Young Buddhas" by Naomi C. Rose... the story of the nasty-looking creature who transforms into a beautiful mystical being, if only the person beholding the sight can adjust how they look at the person, at the situation... Seeing this person as someone just like me, with the best intentions at heart, helped me see that I would've made the same choices, had I been them... Softening one's gaze you begin to see the underlying beauty of interconnectedness... Amazing transformations occur within...

Reminded me of the transformation with loss.
~namaste~