On Death: Ode to Nola Jean

Yesterday I had the honor of being invited to speak at the Celebration Service for a beautiful woman; Nola Jean! Her daughers invited me to join with family and friends to reflect on this last part of her Earthly Journey. This is what I spoke:

On Death from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran:

"Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."
And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the sheered not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and see God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of slience shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance."

My Reflection:

Death is hard. It is hard for the one who longs to stick around with family and friends and it is especially hard for those of us left behind while our loved one travels to Heaven; Summerland.

If we listen closely to Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, we hear words of comfort. We hear that we fear death because we fear standing before "the King". But Gibran tells us this king is there to lay hands upon "the shepherd" in honor and not in judgment.

He tells us that with ceasing to breathe, we are then free of all the restless tides. We are free from frighting the next fight; the next worry; the next disturbance in our soul and the pain that so frequently comes at the end of our lives.

We are now free to seek God "unencumbered." That means that we are finally free of what everyone else has told us about what awaits us; and we are free to search for the Divine Creator. We are free to sing and climb mountain tops and dance.

Can you see Nola singing and dancing on the mountain top?
Can you imagine her seeking her Creator amongst the Stars and Planets and the Moon and Sun?
Can you imagine how she will feel when she stands before her Creator and is honored for the Life she led while she was on this Planet?

Nola did many wonderful things while she traveled this Earth and she spoke words of the Divine to her children and to her friends and family.
She stood and gazed in awe at the celestial bodies; she looked at stones and crystals in amazement knowing that only something bigger than her could have created such brilliance.
She was seeking the Divine on her Earthly Journey and now she is rejoicing and discovering new and wonderful things!

"And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance."

Dance into Heaven, Nola Jean! Dance unencumbered and find your God waiting to honor you!

Let us pray:

Oh Mother/Father God, we thank you for the beautiful life of Nola Jean! Her time on this Earthly Journey has come to an end, but she left hand prints all over the hearts of everyone and everything she touched. Give peace to Dolores, Dory and David and all who loved her. Goddess guide her transition to Summerland and when we look at the Stars may we see her dancing there.

Aho and Amen!