on death & life & Living … (06/18/12)

Grief can destroy you … or grief can magnify you. Once death’s icy presence enters our circle of beloveds, each one of us has an all-important choice to make.  We can either sink into sadness and decide that the lost relationship was “all for nothing”, or we can come to realize that every moment of […]

A Tribute to Todd – Remembering a Great Man … (06/24/12)

“When a great life sets, it leaves an afterglow on the sky far into the night.” ~ Austin O’Malley   On June 18th of 2012, when I originally wrote and posted this tribute’s opening chapter on grief & grieving, I had no idea that it was on that very day that medical examiners had finally […]

A Tribute to Todd – The Early Years … (06/25/12)

“Life is what you celebrate. All of it … even its end.” ~ Joanne Harris Frankly, I don’t really know how to do this “right” — I don’t really know how to tell the Tale of Todd in a way that will do him justice, or that will allow you all to have even the […]

A Tribute to Todd – Clearer Vision … (06/27/12)

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is […]

A Tribute to Todd – Hitting the Target … (06/28/12)

“On the day when Death will knock at thy door, what will you offer Him? As for me, I will set before my guest the full vessel of my life. I will never let him leave with empty hands …” ~ R. Tagore   Todd had incredible aim.  You could put something in his hand, […]

A Tribute to Todd – Healing Homer … (06/30/12)

“Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they may live apart, and yet remain in one another still.” ~ inspired by William Penn   Frankly, the phrase “s/he’s a healer” gets tossed around far too lightly for my tastes these days … It seems that almost every “New Age guru” out […]

A Tribute to Todd – Psalm 23 .. (07/01/12)

“We must die alone. To the very verge of the stream our friends may accompany us; they may bend over us, they may cling to us there; but that one long ocean wave of eternity eventually washes up to our lips, sweeps us from the shore, and we sets us forth, alone … And in […]

A Tribute to Todd – Pushing the River (07/03/12)

“Impermanence is not just of philosophical interest. It’s very personal. Until we accept and deeply understand in our very being that things change from moment to moment, and never stop changing even for one instant, only then can we truly let go and accept them as they are. And when we really do let go, […]

A Tribute to Todd – Meeting Life Head-On (07/05/12)

“What is the Soul? I cannot stop asking … If I could taste but one sip of an answer, I could break out of this prison for drunks. I didn’t come here of my own accord and I can’t leave that way … Whoever brought me here, will have to take me home.” ~ J. […]

A Tribute to Todd — A Final Fare-well … (07/07/12)

“It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like […]

A Tribute to Todd — Departing for Heaven … (07/27/12)

  In our happier times, I remember often uttering the humble mantra “You never know” when talking about anything related to the future (and even some things related to the present). And I remember Todd, with his impeccable wit, often turning to me after I had done so and responding with a smile and a, […]