Last week I went to a funeral for a colleague; she had been battling cancer for years, and it had finally come back and taken her.
As I was sitting in the back of the church listening to the words spoken by ministers and friends, and thinking about what a dear person she was, and what a dedicated teacher she was, my chest hurt. I was feeling physical pain at the thought of her not being in the world anymore, and how much she'd be missed.
And seeing all the people there, and knowing there were hundreds and hundreds of students whose lives she touched, I thought about the web we make when we live in community. I thought about how, even as we go about our personal, daily lives at work or with our families, seemingly tending to our own needs, we create threads of connection with others, and join our lives to theirs. We make a big giant web of interrelated beings. And so that's why it hurts when one person is taken out of that web.
And yet I wouldn't have it any other way. I would much rather be part of that web, vulnerable to pain when it is torn, than be truly alone. That web is beautiful and real and alive, and I'm glad to be part of it and to be making new strands in it every day.
Mitakuye oyasin! May you build the web today.
Karen
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What a beautiful post. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Sending your heart some good, strong energy. xx oo
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting that lovely comment on Su. I was out of town Thursday and could not go, but so wish I could have. I ran by her house every day and kept saying, I've go to go see Su but never did get to it - she was such a kind soul - was one of hte few people at my work who made me feel good and welcome from the day I arrived - and she had only the warmest of wishes for others. I miss her greatly.
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