Distance means so little, when someone means so much…
Last Thursday my family received a phone call that my beloved Aunt who lives far away was critically ill. Soon after hearing this news, my parents and I boarded a small plane out of town and were at her side by evening. Chances were good that she would be gone before we got there, but true to form, she was as gracious in her leaving as she had been in her living. She gifted us, as well as the other loved ones who had gathered around her, with a wonderful, lucid, and inspiring conversation. She had absolutely no fear, very little pain, and was as peaceful and tranquil about the next stage of her journey as anyone I have ever seen.
In my work with those at the end of life I have always maintained that people die the same way that they live…. Our patterns run deep and they are hard to change when our days grow short. She is yet one more example of why I so whole-heartedly believe this philosphy to be true. In her lifetime she faced great heartache. She was a mother to two children and she buried them both, one at the tender age of 18. Despite her losses she never complained and never expressed even a moment of bitterness. To face what she faced and to continue on in life with a kind and open heart is, to me, the most inspiring thing in the world.
I am honored to have gotten to call her Aunt- she was such a soft and beautiful part of our family and although she will be deeply missed I trust her existence now is one where she is reunited with all of those who she lost too soon. Before I said my last good bye to her physical vehicle, I cued this song up on my phone and placed it gently over her heart. I quietly held her still warm hand as the words wafted through the quiet hospital room…
As I closed my eyes and sat there…. I knew- I could only imagine.