I Said Goodbye

You say goodbye, and I say hello, hello, hello
You say why, and I say I don't know...

I said goodbye today to someone who was a very special person.  At the appointed time for the funeral to begin, which was over 1000 very cold miles away, I went out on my beach to the special place and began a small ritual, alone. It included special rocks and crystals, sage, incense, flags and candles. After everything was said and done, I sat in a nearby chair under the shade of some palms and stared at the ocean.  It was not completely still; there was a slight breeze and my chimes were tolling softly, but the day seemed frozen in in the moment. I noticed how the sun was shimmering on the water so that it looked like thousands of flashbulbs all at once scattered over the surface. I stared at the boats so far out, and watched all the wildlife go about their business.  So many birds, fish splashing, and even some Key deer wandered by.  I heard Peri's little bell in the distance, and within moments he was upon my lap, making kitty pizza, and settling in for a long hour's nap.

I have no answers for anything why things happen the way they do, or for what happens next after our time here on Earth. I have lost too many family and friends, and attended too many services in the bitter cold under gray skies, sometimes in the snow. When I think back to those services, everything seemed so bleak, so desperate. Living here where I do, it's a weird kind of thing, because I understand whenever I need to talk with someone who has crossed over, I simply go out my back door and look at the sky, the stars or the ocean and then I can see them everywhere. And, so it was today with this very special person who has left this life and all that it offers for whatever comes next. In every wave that sparkled, every breeze I felt, every bird that flew by, that very special person was right here.

I said goodbye today, but tomorrow it will be hello.