Karen died

My very close friend and mentor died this week.She "lived with cancer" (her words) for 10 years.The third time it returned and she again started chemo she said, "Well I know this is what is going to get me." But it didn't get her for 10 years. And she considered that a victory.

During her last 10 years Karen wrote and had published about 7-8 books---her years of collecting notes on everything from art to writing to spirituality and on and on. She also cared deeply for people-especially friends and neighbors. When Tropical Storm Irene devastated her neighborhood she spent hours and hours and energy collecting food, clothing and money for those who had lost so much. She had unlimited creativity-she wrote, she sang, she played the piano, she sewed. She spent the last 6 months of her life writing "The Divine Art of Dying" which will be published next spring. Look at her work on amazon---Karen Speerstra.

Karen was exactly my age. We celebrated our birthdays with cake and ice cream and trips. We were hoping for the next big "decade' birthday to be a really big trip. When someone exactly your age dies, it is a time of real reflection. On the day Karen died there was meditation in a book we are reading regarding  New Year's Eve. "For us the turn of the year (or the death of a friend) should be a red light that makes us stop and look and listen, and then ask us where we are going."

Where are you going? Is it  a movement closer to God? How are you getting there? Does it feel like peace?

Blessings-Penny