June 27th, 2024
This is not the next newsletter I wanted to write. But, life interrupted.
Last week, a friend passed away in a plane crash. She was piloting a routine flight in her twin-engine Piper, something went wrong, and she put the plane down in a wooded lot avoiding the many houses around it. The rest of the story’s details are unknown.
As such things go, it was unexpected.
One week prior, we were supposed to grab a pint together, celebrating her arrival in Winnipeg at the end of a cycling trip from Calgary. My health was awry that night, so we pushed it back until next time. There was no next time.
As such things go, a hole is left behind.
She was an inspiration and force to be reckoned with; 34 years old and at that beautiful tipping point of life where potentiality gets some hard-earned momentum behind it.
As such things go, her influence will live on.
The impact of her life will continue to ripple outward into the world; cascading into the waves and currents of others, disappearing into crests and troughs that are always moving, shifting, and transforming.
And yet, and yet...I miss her deeply.
On Zen retreat, there is a chant that is done at the end of each evening:
Life and death are of supreme importance.
Time passes swiftly and opportunity is lost.
Let us awaken.
Do not squander your life.
The final admonishment echoes in the deafening silence that follows. I walk to my bed with everything it stirred up. I wake up the next day and live life with what settles.
My friend’s name was Natalie Gillis. She is gone, but her existence echoes in the space left behind in much the same way. Everything is swirled up. Today, yesterday, tomorrow...none of it feels linear. Gratitude for everyday moments mixes with a visceral challenge to never take the time we have for granted.
A wilderness guide and a pilot, a photographer and a poet, a friend and a colleague...you were a beaut Nat, who embodied living life to the fullest.
This unfiltered newsletter bubbles up from the deep grief that I’m currently steeped in. I share it in case anyone else could also use a reminder about the fleeting nature of life. Each moment is precious and tomorrow is not a given.
Take care,
David