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Last Sunday afternoon a friend of ours passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly. She was found lying peacefully outside in her yard. She was in apparent good health and excellent spirits. An optimistic and passionate soul who loved people, nature and the small town mountain community that we live in.
She and I were in our local yoga class together, and to attend class on Monday evening this week without her being there left a hole in the room and in our hearts. Our yoga instructor brought in candles and crystals and made a nice little temporary altar in her honor. The candles burned throughout the duration of the class. We laid out her yoga mat, blanket and blocks so that her spirit would be welcome to join us as if she were still with us in body. She was loved and will be missed by all who knew her.
It seems as though there have been quite a few people whom I have known here and who have passed on in the ten years that I have lived here in the mountains. I was thinking about that fact this morning as I awoke. Maybe it’s just that I am growing older and so are the people around me. Maybe I hang out with people much older than myself so that it is natural for me to witness more than the average amount of people passing in comparison to my own age group. Or maybe, and I think this is the real answer, I have been living in this small town now for over 10 years, and the number of people dying is about average in comparison to other places I have lived, but because I am in this smaller town, I personally know a higher percentage of the population than I did when I lived in a much bigger city.
I know more people and I know more about those people. Everyone here in this small community knows everybody else and what is going in their lives. Sometimes that can be annoying or inconvenient. Sometimes it can be very pleasant and comforting. The majority of folks around here, my acquaintances, my friends, the shopkeepers, my neighbors etc. are good people who care about their town and the people who live here. That knowledge brings me comfort. That spirit and good energy is one reason why I chose to live here.
Life will go on in our small town, now without our good friend, but her memory will stay with the people who live here and her spirit will live in their hearts. Her spirit will live in the trees, the rocks, the streams. My spring flowers and the sunshine that makes them bloom will reflect her great passion for life. We will miss you Cynthia. You are still our beautiful passionate butterfly.
© Copyright 2008 Mountain Harvest Basket
4 comments:
Beautiful tribute.
Cynthia will be remembered by all of us. I am sure she has been smiling on her way to the light reading all about our memories of her.
A lot of our memories of her were probably a surprise. We should have shared them with her when she was with us, so we could have heard her laughter. I'll miss her to.
Hi Bob,
Thank you for your comments & praise for my post. I actually did share some of my feelings with Cynthia over the years. I can remember a few occasions when I had one on one sharing conversations with her. At a fun Halloween party out at Three Springs long ago, at the party for Hansel last Fall, when discussing chamber activities with her, and more recently during yoga classes.
I think she knew how we felt about her. Her laughter was good and she had a great smile.
Hi Farmer Jen - I'm so sorry for your, and your community's, loss. Cynthia sounds like she was a wonderful friend and one who laughed easily and a lot. I love people like that. She, too, was lucky to have you as her friend. How glad I am that you had an opportunity to share some of your feelings with her before she passed. Sometimes, we don't do this often enough -or soon enough-, believing that a person already knows how you feel. They very well may know - but it can be profound to hear it, too. :-)
I'm sorry for the hole she will leave, but you are good to remember her in your beautiful, peaceful surroundings.
Farmgirl DK,
Thank you for your comforting words. Cynthia did laugh easily and a lot. I too, am glad that I had the chance to tell her my thoughts while she was here.
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