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Sunday 31 July 2011

When someone you love dies...

I have worked with hundreds of people who have lost someone close to them.  Death comes as a part of the natural cycle of life.  The challenge is that we never know when.  I held my brothers hand as he died and I recall the sudden gasp of his last breath.  My physical relationship with him ended and I was astonished at how frail these bodies are.  I want to say that it changed me in some powerful way or that I am happy to have a spirit filled relationship with him, but I can't.  The truth is I miss him.  The long walks bantering about philosophy, late nights drinking pints of beer or the hours we spent at 'fringe festivals' grading the plays we saw. 

I can accept death as a part of my journey, but I am more profoundly moved by the intensely personal experience it can be.  I changed as he died.  Perhaps it made me stronger or sometimes I think, more vulnerable.  Either way I find myself being more mindful of my days.  Listening to the wind, following the pattern of bird songs or listening to the laughter of children.   Sometimes I simply marvel at the sound of my breath.  TJS

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