Celebration of Life

“Let us not look for you only in memory, where we would grow lonely without you. You would want us to find you in presence, beside us when beauty brightens, when kindness glows and where you continue to inspire us with your generous heart.”  John O’Donohue, Celtic Poet

Last week I, like so many other friends and family members, gathered to remember and honor Helene. I first met Helene several years ago when I started going to CrossFit. She was my coach, friend, mentor and bright-eyed source of good vibes. She made working out FUN! Together we would break out in dance steps in between reps. She led by example showing me and other aging women to embrace all the ages and stages of life, to be positive about what we can do instead of what physically we just can’t do anymore.  No shame! No defeat!

She not only loved people, but she loved a person in a way that was unique to them. I was one of the fortunate people that got to be the recipient of that special, custom-fit love as were countless others that filled up to over flowing at her Celebration of Life. I know I can speak for all of us when I say what brings some measure of solace is deep gratitude that Helene crossed our paths in our lifetimes. I give thanks to her knowing that she made my life better. I feel her buoyant smile inside me now and I carry on with a skip and a twirl.

Shamanic tradition of indigenous cultures informs us that there is a Web of Life where everything has a connection to everything else with a unified soul that is not bound by body, but lives in timeless eternity. It is essence. It is what doesn’t die.

This morning as I lay on my yoga mat, I asked Helene, what message do you want me to share? In a split second I heard inside my heart, “I  continue to love all of you. I am here.”

“Yes, there is a huge hole where Helene used to be but we will fill it up with love for her and each other. Community.”  Annie Sakamoto, owner CrossFit Santa Cruz Central