“Those whom we have loved never really leave us. They live on forever in our hearts, and cast their radiant light onto our every shadow.” – Sylvana Rossetti

Today I mourn the passing of a small life.  A small life that carried a very large and loving heart.

A close friend’s pet, a cat and family member of 15+ years, has completed her journey in this life.  Recently this wonderful, loving creature took a turn for the worst as she dealt with a foreign growth diagnosed as terminal.  By mid-week she continued the downward decline, seeming stoic yet offering signals from her natural, inner senses that her time for the next phase of life was almost here.  And as loving care and comfort was given, my friend heard the message, searched deep inside her soul, and together with her son made the loving and difficult decision to offer peace once more to her friend, companion, and playmate of so many years.

So yesterday was my friend’s time to begin grieving, and remembering the wonderful life shared between a cat and their guardian.  It signaled her time to navigate through loss and the painful process of beginning to let go.  It became her time to begin re-framing love expressed when alive into an even richer love built upon memories and the reliving of the feelings spawned by those memories.

And for me, I gave comfort where and when possible … and gave space for healing to begin.  And throughout it all I was reminded that the human species thrives on connection … a connection that at times can be surprisingly powerful, deep, and richly sweetened by life’s shared events accumulated each hour of each day of each year … a connection that when lost, creates pain like no other.  A connection that becomes a rich tapestry that is woven through life when lived, then folded and stored once life ends.  A connection that is love.

But the tapestry remains, ready to be pulled down from the shelf and used to wrap around you when times arrive to recall a life well lived.  Yes … such loss is terribly sad.  But as was described by this friend as she navigated the painful feelings … death is the price paid for living.  And a life well lived … a life offering deep and ever meaningful connection is worth the payment.

Be at peace as you … as your kitty spirit … flows back into the universe my dear Pepper.  You are loved because you gave love, and the sting of loss shows the depth of the love you gave.