As the green summer leaves fade like a watercolor into golden ambers and mustards, the old China Berry tree facing the west of my yard begins to shed again. This is the Earth’s way of telling me October has arrived bearing a season of transition. With it comes the early set of a resting sun, and a cool night breeze playing its mysterious tune within the hollow of my wooden chimes. As I sit, and watch, and listen, I attune to a remembrance in my heart that nothing ever really remains the same. All things are in a state of expansion, contraction, growth, renewal, death and rebirth. This natural order of the world is often difficult for the intellect to accept. We want the beautiful things to remain as they are, we want to the ugly to be dissolved in the dark of night, we want to have a sense of control that we protect and reject as we so choose. But the deep unknowable laws of nature and Great Spirit govern, and in doing so they keep us humble and they teach us acceptance and faith for the one endless constant that holds us all.
One of the hardest, if not the hardest, transitions to accept is loosing a loved one or facing the end life. Though we know from early on that this is a raw fact of life, it is hard to pallet when we are touched by its unalterable reality. This year I have been witness to many souls leaving this realm, babies and elders, promising young men and women, love birds and animal friends. Each time, the pit in my stomach sinks a little deeper as I try to find beauty in impermanence. I invite myself to a soulful place beyond my mind which attempts to make sense of what feels like an injustice, an unfairness. This soulful place holds the wisdom of all worlds, and I recall that when we leave this plane of existence we are stepping into another part of our experience…it is not the end, but a new journey that awaits us. To many cultures it is an honor to pass, to continue on to higher places and to be a source of inspiration and healing from beyond. Often, I think of karma and wonder if those souls who have left before their time have left because they received all the love they needed to complete their cycle.
A sweet friend of mine recently experienced a deep loss of a young man named Luka, and in his honor she has created an incredible event, Luka’s Spirit of Service. It is her intention to bring many different communities together to celebrate the life of Luka, an incredible and honorable man who was killed in a motorcycle accident. The event is this Sunday, Oct 28 at Kiwanis Park, Tempe from 9:30-5 (click on the above link for details). It is open to all, and a family event. There will be sun salutations, mediation, yoga class, acro yoga, live music, swords and belly dancers, fire performers, a bake sale, a labyrinth and most importantly a gathering of a supportive and healing community. The event is donation based and 100% proceeds go to a forever endowment scholarship in Luka’s name, which will support a student pursuing a Criminal Justice degree. Click to donate!
It doesn’t matter if you don’t know Luka, I myself did not know him, but I do know that we are all closer to one another than we realize, and I do know that I have been touched by many people who are no longer with us. This is a special opportunity to heal with community and honor all of life and all of death. This is going to be a fun, playful, touching, and inspiring event that truly celebrates life, connection and transition.
I find it no coincidence as I close this segment, my eyes fix upon a leaf, which for reasons unknown, has pried itself from the life of the tree and releases into a current of soothing wind that gracefully carries it through the sky. I watch the setting sun shine its last rays through the body of the leaf and I see it become a bearer of light. It peacefully drifts into the night canopy. I can not see it, but I know it is there.
Blessing and love,
Robin Afinowich
