My heart aches to learn of the passing of Dana Reeve, wife of Christopher, who lived as our Superman even amidst his challenges. She stood as his angel, advocate, soul partner and divine mother to their son, ever a model of courage and grace. I’m sure she had her moments of despair along her path, perhaps even those moments where you wonder if the sobbing will ever pass. Even these moments are a part of being an ordinary human, for her packaged in a famous body, that we must learn to embrace, but not stop there. It is only a point we pass on the journey of unknowns. It is our work, our calling to get up one more time than we stumble.
Breathe, breathe. Sometimes that is all we can do as we await the rising of the phoenix. It can seem an eternity, but we must hold the intention to rise. She did. She arose over and over as she stepped beyond any doubts or fatigue she might have had, and handled even her own illness with Grace.
How could it be possible that this ill-fated experience could touch their family twice, leaving their thirteen-year-old son without his mother and father? How do we make sense of this as we stretch to comprehend the loss of such icons and role models? Where is the lining of happiness here in the reminder that bad things do happen to good people?
We probably only understand a thimble full of life, and with our limited vision, resist it’s perfection because it out-reaches our ability to accept what is. When I step out of my immediate feelings to look at the bigger and more magical picture I can bring into focus the huge web of support and love that was woven, fostered, facilitated, expanded and strengthened by the opportunities given by such illness and tragedy. Hard to see, but it’s there. Hope and love unending. The gift of what seems incomprehensible is always the reminder… to live fully and love deeply, to stay in conscious appreciation of each moment we have and each person we love.
As a family they seemed to live each moment fully, continuously reached out to serve others, and modeled a lifestyle of love, inspiration and manifesting miracles for their son. He will grieve supported by the wings of many angels. But, there is nothing like the embrace of a mother and father who love you. The hardest part of loving someone is letting go, and yet when we love authentically, we must learn to embrace this as a necessary part of loving at all. This feeling of emptiness is the harsh reminder that we do not have control of the circumstances, but do have the choice each moment to open our hearts to the lessons offered by them, even the hard ones, to be touched and shaped by them as the invitation to step into our own magnificence.
For every loss, every setback, every act of violence in this world there are millions of acts of kindness and love that often go unnoticed. Where will you place your gaze? Although we must allow ourselves to face the detours and potholes, we must then willingly beckon our attention to the horizon and focus there. Happiness comes when we commit to seeing the good in all beyond each challenge, or perhaps even because of them. Embrace what is, committed to seeing the blessing and the magic.
Prosperity does not always come in monetary riches, but in the abundance of hands available to hold ours as we share the mysteries of life together if we are willing to open our heart to such joy. We will acknowledge and receive the generous gift of Dana Reeve with gratitude if today and from this day forward we become more conscious and loving in our celebration of life.
Dana was love in action as she did as every woman does, stretched to find balance within her relationship her family and her community. All they asked by the way they lived their lives is that we treasure life and believe in the power of love. We celebrate the gift of her life disguised at this time by the sadness of her passing, and gently raise our eyes to the horizon in her honor. Treasure each moment, and know that despite all doubts and ordinary steps, you are extraordinary and you matter.
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