Topic of the week: Death

Death has been our minds quite a bit this week. On June 7th the son of a good friend of ours died after seven weeks in a coma. The cause was accidental overdose. I went to his Buddhist funeral last night. It was said at the service "How many of us made a mistake in our twenties and were lucky enough to get a second chance. Ryan didn't get a second chance." He was only twenty years old. None of us know "the hour of our death."

What was especially beautiful of this service was how clear it was that Ryan was not just "a warning to others." I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but my sons did. We know Ryan's family because his mother and husband provide services for people with autism. They have been some of the most supportive people we have had the pleasure of working with on our own journey. It was said at last night's service that Ryan had the type of personality that attracted young children to him. It was so clear how much he had touched other people on his twenty year passage through our world.