“Faces I have grown to love
Voices so dear
Early morning light dancing in to our room
Illuminating our Souls
Voices so dear
Kindred spirits on the Quest for the Holy Grail
Illuminating our souls
This gift of gathering
Kindred sprits on the quest for the holy grail
Voices blending into a joyous chorus
This gift of gathering
Where teachers and students become one
Voices blending into a joyous chorus
Singing a hymn of praise
The breath uniting the body, mind and spirit
Trusting our own inner voice
Yes, singing a hymn of praise
The breath uniting the body, mind and spirit
Motion becomes its own delight
As silence signs the hymn
On the faces I have grown to love…….”
Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other, That we are still
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way you always used
Put no difference into your tone
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed, At the little jokes we always enjoyed together
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was
Let it be spoken without effort, Without the ghost of a shadow in it
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind, Because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you for an interval
Somewhere very near, Just around the corner,
All is well.
Nothing is past; nothing is lost
One brief moment and all will be as it was before
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
Canon Henry Scott-Holland, 1847-1918, Canon of St Paul's Cathedral
Just as you requested, Mom, we spread half of your ashes in a beautiful stream in the Jemez. It was the last place we went together before you had to go to the ICU that last time, remember? It was a beautiful fall day, the leaves were turning, the Aspen's were gold, the sky was full of sun and a cloudless blue. When we took your ashes there it was sunny and beautiful, just like the day we found it together.
Arjuna and Rachel were there with little Finley and Noah, as well as Lizzie and Andy. Noah delighted in putting "Tutu's special dirt" in the stream over and over again, accidentally sending some on the wind, all over his coat, and into my face as I was standing behind him. "Oh no, I have Mom in my eye," I laughed and cried at the same time. You would have laughed hysterically (maybe you were) at this one silly moment amongst the reverence and remembrance of the rest of the occassion.
