Today, not long after midnight my friend Michele passed from this earth. We were not extremely close but I had known her for about 10 years and we had a sweet loving connection. We were part of the same spiritual community and were both members of the River Women Art Collective a few years ago.
She had the “C” disease. It started in one part of her body and then spread. She had planned and held a memorial service for herself in March of 2011, not sure if she’d be able to attend or not. She was there with bells on and managed to rally after that for 10 more months of life, mostly of a half-way decent quality.
Today my heart is heavy as I grieve the loss of her. And with this loss I continue to reflect on the mystery of physical conditions and dis-ease.
Michele had a difficult life and yet managed to be one of the most loving people I ever met. She was the kind of person who would take you into her home if you had no place to live.
In fact, when she was close to death 10 months ago, I began paying close attention to who she was and who she had been to so many people. And I started a practice that I would do whenever I became aware of my judgmental side (which was daily).
When I noticed myself having critical thoughts, I would ask myself – “What would Michele do?” In other words “What would love do?”
And now I am reminded of that practice as I remember my friend and her impact on my life. As I write on this blog about my self-healing quest using practices of self-acceptance and loving kindness, Michele will stay in my heart as I a model of unconditional love.
Thank you Michele for coming into my life and being the model of an open heart. I love you. And I commit to loving myself and others as you have loved.
Blessings to you dear one. I will think of you when I paddle through the salt marsh and will hold you forever in my heart. I pray that when I get off course, I will never forget to ask myself “What would Michele do?”
