Life and death were not the topics I planned for my next post this week. However my life came to a screeching halt when my beautiful friend, mentor, riding instructor and horse trainer had a tragic accident.
The week had begun as usual, nothing out of the ordinary. I was running a little late for my first client session and hurrying to be on time.
A last minute check of my Facebook page brought my world to a crashing stop. All the little things on my list that were so important to do were now of zero value and completely unimportant. My priorities shifted in the blink of an eye.
Canceling everything, making calls, getting organized to help, driving to hospital, beginning to absorb the news were all I could manage.
At the hospital, I was joined by people from all walks of my friend’s life. We were bound together by the love of our friend, yet each one of us different in so many ways. Personalities and egos (which we so highly prize at times) were set aside and amazingly, we became one human unit with one mission. Together, we moved like Swiss watch, taking care of everything that needed to be done.
Now my friend is gone leaving me time to reflect on my feelings of being a witness to “no separation” between people. All of our protective shields and boundaries disappeared as we came together to experience our one common denominator, death.
Sam Harris’ video came into my life a few months ago. I was powerfully impacted by the message of not waiting, waking up in the moment and being here. The message stuck with me for awhile, then “poof” it disappeared from my conscious mind. Losing my friend has given me another opportunity to remember the message in this video. Will I regret what I cared out?
The importance of touching, hugging, saying I love you, sharing how important someone is in my life without my usual emotional filters was the gift that I received from this surprise ending of a life.
The gift of “don’t wait” was the clear message given to me. Don’t wait to reach out first, don’t wait to be kind, don’t wait to love, don’t wait to live your passion, don’t wait…period!
Life goes on until death stops it(Beryl Markham, West Of The Nile)
