An Ode to Death

Welcome Death, welcome to my new day

Born to dance on up and down the road called "Bein' Alive"

For however long until the final moment arrives

When breathing ceases and heart beat stops

In the meantime I carry on with purpose

And when all  business is finished

When  all lessons are learned and its time to move on

When you invite me into a new kind of dance  I am willing

And take your hand as you guide me there

Safely home 

whole life lived

Perfect  in every smile and tear 

And dream and despair

All is well

May through July of 2016 I was in limbo from a dramatic life change. During that time, I remained numb. At the same time, my unconscious awareness (an oxymoron I know) was planning a healing journey.  During these three months i rearranged my whole house to accommodate living alone and free from the past. During this time I also made plans and arrangements for journeying to a healed and healthy place, a place in time where I now reside.

And so the journey through this year begins:

From August through October  I was on the road most of the time from Vermont to Chicago to  Germany to France and back. Every place I went I encountered an old memory, a new site, and a connection with those I have known and loved. I experienced  a full sense of belonging wherever I was whether it was on a road trip with my son, Randy, or a retreat at Plum village, France. 

November 2016 through February 2017 I began what I will remember as a reentry into the world around me. I got involved in the community with fear and trepidation. Would this environment allow my entry as the person I am or would I have to flex to accommodate belonging? The election war zone and my own recent years of sheltered existence  kept me on an endless nerve racking edge. At the same time, this reentry held delightful encounters and Spirit nourishing  invitations beckoning me to become new. I experienced myself as a seed  planted and beginning to grow (maybe  into a biblical tree).  Perhaps the despair was the earth being tilled to grow this new garden of me.

March through May definitely was a turning point. Spring had arrived and everything was sprouting and blooming and my venture into the community became a dance through this garden of life. Conversations with colleagues of yore, time with new friends, and deepening my own Spiritual path were filled with sunshine.  I was learning to live more fully than I have ever known. I realized this was happening when all regrets left to take their place in the past to rest in peace.

June began with my grandson, Justin Reece, completing his journey on Earth and is ending with dear sweet and lovely friend, Jan Simpson, also moving on  into the Light quite unexpectedly. These two months and two events have been laced with preparations for the coming year. My son, Russ, moved back to his home here in Crescent City, bringing with him the presence of  family in real time again. Death will invite us all soon enough. These two months have been a reckoning with the reality of Death. When Death takes my hand and leads me to the next realm, I welcome the continuation of the journey.

In the meantime, with a bubbling sense of freedom and adventure, I am committed to living each  moment wonder filled. I have plans for this year. They are not yearnings nor are they goals. They are projections of possible experience. They are Spiritual and practical and compassionate responses to a suffering planet, by the way I live my life each day.

EThis year has been preparation for a whole new cycle for me. It may turn out that it has been preparation for Death's invitation. I am just not going to be worrying about what it is or isn't. I am just going to be moving on up and down the road "Bein' Alive".

A yearly reflection on the occasion of remembering one's birth is a spiritual exercise.  I invite you to do the same. It is very personal and finally all about you. You  get to have that privilege at least once a year with ultimate legitimacy!!!