Mans best friend

[BatiArb]

Thank you for your thoughts and private messages…

 

I had not intended to blow the thread in quite that way, so please accept my apologies, but you can never plan for these things and although it was inevitable Friday was an unexpected day, if that makes any sense.

 

A surreal experience on many levels, and again it was my evening dog walk that topped it all, when I strolled across the common with Millie and stopped in at my local pub for a couple of pints. Nothing unusual, but I had forgotten it was 31st October and the pub was full of people dressed as ghosts, skeletons or vampires, celebrating Halloween. Surreal does not really do it justice after the day I had experienced.

 

However, it did lead me to wonder how many of the revelers in the pub had fully considered or really appreciated the implications and traditional associations of the festival, with the centuries of cultural relationships focused on human mortality. And observing others in the pub reinforced my thoughts about the duality of our ‘modern’ western society that has lost touch with its natural ecology.

 

So as this thread draws to a close I would like to encourage everyone to take a fresh look at our living environment. Those of you with dogs will be out there on a daily basis walking in the woods, but the others may have to dedicate some time specifically.

 

Live life to the full and be grateful for all experiences good or bad, value each one as an opportunity for fulfillment……remember this is not a rehearsal and you get no second chances.

 

Nothing lasts but nothing is lost….there is only change…..and with change comes opportunity.

 

 

*************

[Steve Bullman]

very sorry for your loss andrew

[skyhuck]

Andrew, I cannot think that any one could fails to be inspired by your positive outward looking perspective on life!.

 

Your lack of self pity amazes me!.

 

I cannot begin to know how you feel or how you have managed to maintain your positivity though your loss.

 

I wish you and your family all the best for the future.

 

Most of us take our health and the health of those we love for granted and don't stop to think, often enough, how blessed we are.

 

Warm regards Dave.

[David oakman]

Very sorry andrew you are right about life and making it count,thinking of you and your family david.

[Colin Bashford]

Thank you Andrew for a great insight and a wonderful approach to our frailities when faced with life and death.

 

God bless you mate.

 

Colin

[Tommy_B]

Very sorry for your loss Andrew, Very good posts and amzing outlook on things.

 

Best wishes, Tom

[roboted]

Very sad about your loss.....Thank you for your thoughts and words....

[Mike]

Very sad news Andrew. Our thoughts are with you and your family.

 

Best wishes.

 

Mike and Steve

[BatiArb]

Funeral went very well on Monday, and I managed to play my part without too much drama. The months of mental preparation have certainly helped enormously, and now I feel stronger than I have ever done, but need to regain my focus and re-establish my direction.

 

So getting back into things now and beginning to work out what has changed.

 

I have put a great deal of effort into my own personal perspective on life and my relationship with mortality. Now my issues are not actually with my own life but with other people’s perceptions of it.

 

We live in a strange world where 'modern' (Western) society has lost its relationship with death and the natural mortality of the human race. As such people generally do not know how to handle it when it happens to them or others that they associate with, especially when it is unexpected.

 

I was lucky to have been given the time to face the inevitability of the situation and the ability to prepare myself for it. As such I am in a much stronger position now than I have ever been in the past. I also feel incredibly privileged to have been given the opportunity to experience the last years of my wife’s rewarding life.

 

This is a time of massive change and I am very receptive towards it. And I do not just mean my own personal circumstances, there is something much much bigger going on, that is only apparent through the ripple effect.

 

Maria, passed away on the 31st October, which is a significant date in itself, and I also believe it was her choice to do so. She was at home in bed with me and both her mother and sister had been to visit that day. She had reached a stage where her illness was depriving her of virtually all her independence and I do not believe she wanted to persist any further.

 

It is indeed a privileged experience to have, sharing and coming to terms with mortality in all aspects of nature. Unfortunately I think it is all to rare in modern society and I feel empowered by the opportunity that was offered to me, although I have to say that it has only been recently that this became my reality, because I also experienced considerable emotional turmoil before reaching a point where I new it had to be turned around.

 

I am grateful that I found my strength before Maria’s passing and that she experienced the change in me. I sincerely believe that she found the strength and determination within herself to allow me the extra time. I am know drawing on the strength she gave me and working out how I make the best of my life in a way that honours her contribution to it.

 

Spiritually I am still a little uncertain of my connections in the world and place within the grander scheme of things, but I am confident that I am here to make a difference and I am discovering my true purpose. I value my understanding of the natural world and the connection I feel with it, both organically and spiritually. However, it concerns me that so many people struggle to see how such associations and understandings are an intrinsic part of our life on this earth.

 

I feel a need to share my experience and am fortunate to be in a position where communications channels are already open to me. I now need to work out how I can best exploit the availability of modern media, on the net, audio visual, in hard copy books and magazine, not to mention public speaking.

 

We live in interesting times, and I am currently poised in anticipation for what may happen in the near future.

 

Although nervous of what might be in store, I am confidence and strong, feeling capable of drawing on my life’s experiences and an ability to communicate with others.

 

Live life in gratitude……

 

Best wishes to you all

 

Andrew

 

PS. I have attached a brief tribute to Maria, which I read out at her funeral on Monday.

 

 

..

Tribute to Maria Phelan - Cowan.pdf

[Jonesie]

Very sorry to hear about you loss Andrew

 

Best wishes

 

Justin & Bob