independence day

A neighbor of mine has just let me know that her mother died last night.

Liz and Laurie are sisters who live in my community. They've been very supportive of me this past year as I've lost Nanook and Journey and faced other challenges, and Lakshmi has decided that their dogs, Emma and Gabriel, are her two favorite friends. Over the past several weeks, while Lakshmi and Emma have wrestled and leaped over each other, I've been hearing about their mother's decline. Several days ago, Liz said her mother had openly expressed a willingness to let go and move on.

At 93, she had lived a much fuller life than many. But the death of a parent is one of those inevitabilities that we're rarely prepared for.

The family spent yesterday lobbying the doctors for some kind of relief for their mother. Physician-assisted suicide is legal here in Oregon, but with just enough morphine for pain relief, she was comfortable enough to make the transition on her own.

Knowing that this is her mother's independence day, free from pain and debilitation, does give Laurie some comfort.

I had been thinking of writing this July 4th about what I'd like to liberate myself from -- bad habits, physical clutter, or defeating attitudes -- which then seemed almost frivolous when I learned of my friends' loss. But there isn't any part of life's journey that is irrelevant or unimportant. Isn't embracing life one of the most affirming ways to honor the passing of a beloved soul?

Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.
-- Moshe Dayan

Life is too short to be wasted in pain, fear, or other forms of subjugation. The American Revolutionaries knew this, and it seems that Liz and Laurie's mother did, too. There is always another option. There is always another choice, if we can but have the courage to make it.