How much of our life is made up of extrasomatic experience. This moment, what we can see smell hear and touch, is our physical reality. But our awareness extends way beyond that. We know of activities going on in the next room, like the washing machine just entering the spin cycle for example. We know what things look like more or less at a friends house or our work place. We can visualize the past and the future - in our mind - by piecing together bits of information we take for truth and constructing this larger view of our world. All of it is conjecture. A mere approximation of how things might be with little or no proof available to confirm our construct at the instant that we perceive it.

So it was that over the years I "saw" a time that would come when I would experience the first spring after my mother's departure from this earthly plane. I saw it as a time filled with new beginnings, gratitude for the time we had together, joy that I was able to offer my support during her sunset time. It was a construct of a state of being that lay far in the future. Now that spring has arrived. Mother is gone and all around me life is exploding in ecstasy. The cherry and plum blossoms have passed their glory and the fruit is set, the apple trees are in bloom, the strawberries are stretching to the sun, the geraniums are awakening from their winter slumber, the apricot and peach saplings have grown six inches in three weeks.   

I just returned from my morning walk where the mountain spoke to me. "Separation is indeed the illusion. What you are experiencing as a loss is simply the absence of Oma's body. Both you and her have been freed from the challenges of caring for that body as it aged and deteriorated with use. Her spirit, like yours is alive and well and now that it has been freed from that responsibility can sour like the eagle on the hillside. When you think of Oma, when you remember her, when you love her, she is no less real than she always was. The only thing that is missing is her body, and it deserved to rest after carrying her soul around this earthly plane for over 83 years."

It is indeed a time for renewal. A time to feel the spring in your step, breathe the morning air with zest and joy, live a dream for all the universe to share. Memories of loved ones who have made the transition are precious. In my case I have built a little memorial plot in my rose garden to honor my mother's presence there. The love of life, her love, was celebrated in grand fashion on her birthday. Now everyone has returned to their respective lives.   

It is in gratitude that we can honor the memory of our departed loved ones. Gratitude for the simple things we take for granted. Things like taking a deep breath, eating a healthy meal, walking up a flight of stairs, giving a hug, watching a sunset. The deepest lesson that I was granted during my time of cocooning while mother prepared for her transition was that I take too much of life for granted. The love of life that prompted me to start my web site and this portal some years ago has been intensified immensely by the experience of caring for my mother during her last months on earth.   

My dream of being by her side at the very moment of her departure has come true. Now I will engage my life stream on a new course of adventure. I expect to share the exploration, the musings, the pictures through this portal and my website. Stay tuned. In the meantime if you would like to see what I have been focused on for the last year and why this portal has been silent, you can visit Oma's web site at www.omareflex.com and click on the big picture.  

For the love of Life 
Thomas    

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