I heard about her today.
The one I had learned so much from yesterday.
Yesterday was every day I have lived,
Yet it seemed so long ago, so far away,
Like all good teachers,
she taught me to perform at a distance,
She is now part of that still small voice within me as her physical presence was not available to me in these later years and now will never be again… but I hear her in my still small voice now, her voice, like her lectures, like her convictions, like her expectations, her values, her beliefs, like her laugh was rough, serious, commanding, demanding, uncompromising, to the point, instructive, holy and…precious.

The lucky ones among us have parents and family who nurture us…truly nurture us, they bring us into a world that is all beautiful and all ugly, if we are lucky they teach us to walk toward the beauty, they encourage our first steps with their love and care and experience and expectation…too many children are not nurtured that way, too many are not nurtured at all…she knew that, she expected all of us to parent all of those kids, she made me appreciate how lucky I was to have that kind of family, she helped me understand that that made it easier for me to learn to love and teach others, she made me understand how lucky I was to have such an easy childhood…she did not expect me to be apologetic about that rather she expected me to accept responsibility… I hear her in my still small voice now, her voice, like her lectures, like her convictions, like her expectations, her values, her beliefs, like her laugh was rough,  serious, commanding, demanding, uncompromising, to the point, instructive, holy and…precious.

The lucky ones among us have friends, some so close that they are like blood, they would be there if no one else came…they explore the world with you as you learn to walk from your home and run in your neighborhood…they share your most mischievous moments. Good friends walk to the edge with you but together you learn not to step over the line … in the process you share so many laughs and tears and memories which become the stories you will tell over and over again many times in the tomorrows to come. Too many people have known too few such people, they have only known so -called friends or simply just loneliness …she knew that, she expected those of us that knew friendship to extend it to others, she expected friends to work together not just play together, to build community… communities in which people are decent to each other, and where people learn to play and work together, and to do so with purpose and with holiness. She knew I knew friendship, she knew it was easy for me to not be lonely,… she did not expect me to be apologetic about that rather she expected me to accept responsibility I hear her in my still small voice now, her voice, like her lectures, like her convictions, like her expectations, her values, her beliefs, like her laugh was rough, serious, commanding, demanding, uncompromising, to the point, instructive, holy and…precious.

The most lucky ones among us find our soul mate…a decent person who makes us better and whole…She let us know she had that in her fisherman, that was one of her subtle lessons…She met my soul mate before me and she knew it was to be.  She never played matchmaker, I think she knew that was God’s job alone, but in her purposeful way she chose to teach me the word precious…never again would I use that word to refer to something material, it came to define love and intimacy for me….her chosen vernacular was a life-lesson for me, she taught me love was to be treasured, valued, appreciated, respected. Too many people never know love or let it slip by prematurely…she knew I had found true love, she expected me to recognize that, she expected us to be a role model, so more children might know that things that are precious are possible, that love can be holy and nonviolent and based on respect and equity…I hear her in my still small voice now, her voice, like her lectures, like her convictions, like her expectations, her values, her beliefs, like her laugh was rough, serious, commanding, demanding, uncompromising, to the point, instructive, holy and…precious

The luckiest ones have a mentor in the adolescence of our lives…they know how to temper our reckless abandon and our exploration and the speed of our sprint…they temper our sprint by inspiring us with responsibility. She knew we were moving at a rapid pace and she taught us how important it was to run with others, to run in a direction, to run with an understanding of where we had come from and to know to whom we owed a debt of gratitude …she taught us that freedom involved responsibility and if we forgot that our gallop would be wasted, that we would hurt others and we would lose our spirit. She expected me to sing with others in order to create a common song, for a common purpose in order to build community…she expected us to talk and make our voice known …and to help others talk and share their voice, … she taught us to pay attention to the boy with the yo-yo. In my adolescence she expected that my dance and song and play had to be about something and had to be with others….In my adolescence I had a mentor that taught me that I shared the world with others, that I could not just stand, but that I had to stand for some thing… I could not just run I had to run toward something… I could not just speak; I had to speak for something… I could not just believe; I had to believe in things that were righteous and worthy and fundamental to who I am and where I came from…..she inspired me to listen… I hear her in my still small voice now, her voice, like her lectures, like her convictions, like her expectations, her values, her beliefs, like her laugh was rough,  serious, commanding, demanding, uncompromising, to the point, instructive, holy and…precious.

I heard about her today. The mentor.
The one I had learned so much from yesterday.
Yesterday was every day I have lived,
Yet it seemed so long ago, so far away,
She taught me to reflect on, appreciate and build upon the gifts I have received from my family, friends and love…She expected me-us-to understand and build community with spirit tempered by responsibility, history and purpose.
Like all good teachers, she taught me to perform at a distance and to keep learning…
She is now part of that still small voice with in me as her physical presence was not available to me in these later years and now will never be again… but I hear her in my still small voice now, her voice, like her lectures, like her convictions, like her expectations, her values, her beliefs, like her laugh was rough, serious, commanding, demanding, uncompromising, to the point, instructive, holy and…precious.