A Friend Dies Suddenly

My good friend Donna Briley passed away suddenly and unexpectedly this week. I am sad at the loss and bewildered by the inexplicability of the passing of one so vibrant and health-conscious.

Donna was much too young to leave us. She was a bright light of healing wisdom in a world too often filled with fear and loathing. Her bright smile and constant willingness to help were signatures of her life as a model, actress, healer, teacher, mother, friend and leader. She was also a great hugger.

It is of course always difficult for those of us left behind by such a passing to grasp the meaning and the significance of the transition itself. We feel only loss, where our friend feels unbounded joy and peace and light. We see only what is not, while they see only what is and what will be. We feel pain where they feel only well-being and health.

So I bless Donna on her way as she reunites with so many loved ones who have preceded her. Knowing she is back whence she came is great comfort to her even if it doesn't make the gloom of that empty place she leaves behind any easier for us to bear.