The Enlightened One (Part 2)

 

Panther and Felicia at The Enlightened One's home.  Later Panther came to let me care for her.

Medicine Wheel in The Enlightened One's back yard

I can't go into all the wonderful things that this woman did in her life, nor all the friends who came to visit and care for her in the last months of her life.  That would take another complete blog.  She spent more and more time writing her own journal, pulling sources from the internet, and sharing them with all of us.  She would always let me know whether or not she wanted a visit, but usually it was yes, when I called to ask if I could come over, or take her for an outing.

My time with her in her last year was such a blessing.

Quan Yin in the garden

Guru Satchidananda

We went to a spot on a nearby stream and made sculptures of rocks and leaves.

 We went out of town to a daytime women's singing concert produced by friends, and played in a river.

 

Amma, the Hugging Saint

She invited me for a Japanese tea ceremony in her garden.

We shared what we loved together, and we both took pictures.

The Enlightened One and her daughter share LOVE!

Then I went to CT to see my family, while she had more and more domestic needs, like meals, and medications, and care around the house.  A group of friends began to divide up the services that we could perform for her.

When I came home, I found that she needed a lot more care.  Her daughter was there more of the time, though she had a job and a dear husband who also took part in all of that was happening.

Visiting church for the last time - JOY

The Enlightened One on her porch

A picture I saw at The Enlightened One's memorial service

When The Enlightened One was ready to leave her body, she had great care from Hospice, as well as a group which especially helped with the transition. I believe they are called Transitions for the End of Life.

She left this earth on Sept. 13.  I sat with her for some of the time that day as she gradually left us.  Many friends came to say goodbye in person.

Her memorial service was held a couple of weeks later, at our church.  It was a great sharing of the friendships in her life, with a coming together of people who had known her, but not each other.  A FaceBook page had been started for all these new connections that had developed because of her influence on our lives.

 From the Ashram in VA came a picture of a double rainbow that probably occurred at the same time that she left her body.

Recently I spoke with another woman who said she just found out a friend has only a few months to live.  I made sure to tell her what a wonderful time I had as an "angel of transition" before The Enlightened One died, being part of the last year of her life, just doing what I could and learning so much from her.  It was truly uplifting.