Life and Death

As today comes to an end I reflect on life and death. I went to visit my friend Kathy Murphy, who is close to death.  I attended a beautiful church service via Zoom, and heard my good friend Sara Conant and her children Rosie, Wilson and Mattie sing, play guitar and do hand movements for Peace is Flowing Like a River, a song that invokes what we need most. Our neighbor Tom dropped by to share that he is surviving cancer despite what doctors told him and enjoyed his 60th wedding anniversary with his bride Barbara. Our other friends' children: Emily and Olivia Murphy,  drove by as I was working in our garden and shouted out "hi", and then stopped to visit. They returned later on their walk with their beloved parents and friends to connect. We had a zoom call with our good friends Alan, Rosalia, Pierre and Sophie and connected from Boston, MA to Kirkland, WA. I picked loquats from our tree and plan to make jelly. I realized all the while, people are grieving loss, enjoying food and walk, worried about jobs and future, caring for parents and friends who are sick and dying and others just walking by without a care in the world.  The world is full of everything and all emotions at all times and sometimes we become aware of all the emotions of the world, today for me was one of those times. I was fully aware that the world had suffering, joy, loss, anger, calm, fun, freedom, isolation, loneliness, sorrow and other emotional experiences as a result of personal situations and world situations.  My world opened today to many others' personal worries and experiences. Today instead of me I was aware of Thee. I want to recall that in life there is death, in life there is joy and sorrow, in life there are experiences beyond what I can imagine nor endure and yet in life there are people who love, care and stand by each other. I want to be someone who stands by you in all your experience that I become awake to what you are going through. I want to be in life and in death for you.


Kathy Murphy, my San Mateo Mother, and mother to my best friends the Murphy children: Shelia, Toby, Martha, Moira, Tim and Barbara. My 20's were spent hanging with the Murphy children and their parents.