Death of a loved one changes everything. A void when someone dies. A hole, nothing where a human body lived, loved, engaged with those around him.

The energy pulls in, pulls together to close up that opening. I meet people in my brother’s home. I meet people who were friends of my brother when he was alive, when he walked this earth.

He’s gone from this plane. This existence with a body. A house. His personal belongings. They carry no importance, cannot follow him into the Land of Spirit; nor does he “think” of those earthly accruements. He’s home. With family who have passed on before him. In the arms of Love. Pure Love.

But for us left behind, death changes everything. I sense a whirlpool where he used to exist. I see his face, his smile, his mischievous eyes. Sense his gentleness close by. 

I step into his life as I meet his friends. Each one gives me a slice of his life; a unique perspective, an interpretation of the man I knew as my brother. 

I feel as if I’m living certain aspects, certain time periods through their eyes. Re-knowing my own brother. 

Who was he?

I know my relationship with him. A good one. We shared a love of nature, of music, of gentleness in all aspects of our lives. We shared happy memories of being children, of growing up in our safe neighborhood, of family pets.

I listened as his friends talked about knowing him at different times over the years. I learned about his antics from one friend, Martin. How they drove out to an abandoned house and took a garage floor drain cover. How NOT like my brother to take something. But seriously? That house was going to be demolished, so why not?

I listened while another friend told me about the musical recordings he made with his rock band, The Rabble. I did not know the inner story. 

And on and on and on. 

Death Changes the Energy

The energy changes, pulls in to fill that emptiness, that absence of a human being. I meet his neighbors. Compassionate, supportive people. I did not know how content, how joyful he must have felt living in that particular neighborhood, in the West Island of Montreal, Canada. 

How these neighbors looked out for one another. I made friends with them. The ladies. As if I am the Yin part of my brother (he being the Yang). He was a good friend to the husbands. I to the wives. As if I’d slipped into his space and become the feminine aspect of him.

His ashes swirl in a sacred part of the woods, blending in with the natural surroundings. Becoming one with the dirt, the grass, the rocks and snow. Exactly where he is meant to be. 

We are selling his belongings. Memories are attached to each item. Each piece of furniture, each book. His guitars, sheet music. Family photos. The Story of a man. Who left this earth at 77 years old.

In numerology 7 carries a spiritual vibe. Double that and the energy intensifies. He’d completed his cycle here on earth. Completed his journey and left in a circle of Love. Family and friends remembering him, praying for him, connecting with him in his new realm. 

It’s hard to lose a loved one. Those left behind change. We seek out bits of the person now gone. A memory, a piece of clothing, a written word. 

Our Perspective changes

We become nostalgic, remembering those times when our loved one was fully present and alive. A vibrant being, healthy and happy. 

Our perspective changes too. We take a closer, more introspective look at our own lives.

How are we making the most of our time left here on this earth? Are we simply going through the motions, the steps as if on automatic? Or are we choosing now to celebrate, to enrich our lives with passion knowing with certainty that one day we too will die.