Living Aware

Last week a woman I'd met only a few times passed away, and though I never had the chance to know her well, those few moments in time have changed me in ways I will never forget. I remember sitting out in a park with her, and her sister, laughing and talking on a nice Summer day. I can remember the coolness of the grass, the softly tinted light of the fading sun and most of all I remember the quiet goodness this woman exuded. She was a woman of strength and she had this presence that reached out and snagged my heart from the very first moment I met her. She was not false or pretentious in any way and I remember just feeling comfortable sitting there with her, and her sister, and a friend; connected by the power of our laughter.

It is interesting for me to see how many lives I love have been touched by her simple yet profound elegance. I have been thinking a lot recently about how interconnected we really are, how much we really do need each other. I thrive on the gifts others have to offer and they in turn are fed by mine.

Yesterday I had a card to deliver and rather than make the 10 minute drive I turned it into a 30 minute walk. As I walked along I thought about life and all of its wonder. Sometimes I forget how truly incredible it is to be alive. I thought about the power I have to walk and run as I felt my muscles working together, exerting their strength. For a moment I tried to take in every sensory detail set before me; the gentle stirring of the wind on my skin, The little pockets of sunlight offering warmth in contrast to the pink coolness of my cheeks, the curiosity of a horse with brown and white speckled spots that came to greet me at a nearby gate. There was color everywhere! I marveled at the dandelions and how they live and die and change into a puff of seeds that divide and blow in a hundred different directions. And I thought about this woman, Briana, whose life and influence will do the same. I wondered about the passion she poured into her life's work and whether she was a little reluctant to leave it behind.

And then I thought about my own life and whether I am living it fully enough. Sometimes I forget this life is an experience to be delved into and not just endured. Something stirred within me last evening, a feeling both beautiful and good. Thank you Briana Blackwelder, I hope we get the chance to laugh together in another time and place. Perhaps then we can become true friends.