Nehemiah Owen McKinsey
Born January 7, 1978
Died May 11, 2009
It is only because of our misunderstanding that we think the person we love no longer exists after they “pass away.” This is because we are attached to one of the forms, one of the many manifestations of that person. The person we love is still there. He is around us, within us, and smiling at us.
~~~~~~Thich Nhat Hanh
This body is not me; I am not caught in this body, I am life without boundaries, I have never been born and I have never died. Over there the wide ocean and the sky with many galaxies all manifests from the basis of consciousness. Since beginningless time I have always been free. Birth and death are only a door through which we go in and out. Birth and death are only a game of hide and seek. So smile to me and take my hand and wave goodbye. Tomorrow we shall meet again or even before. We will always be meeting again at the true source, always meeting again on the myriad paths of life.
~~~~~~ Sutra “Given to the Dying” from the Anguttara Nikaya
And at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
~~~~~~T.S. Eliot
Just as a mother would protect with her life her own son, her only son, so one should cultivate an unbounded mind towards all beings and loving kindness towards all the world.
~~~~~~Thich Nhat Hanh
I am not a bit tamed….I am untranslatable
I depart as air….I shake my locks at the runaway sun.
I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your bootsoles.
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.
Failing to fetch me at first, keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you.
~~~~~~~~~Walt Whitman
I loved him. I miss him.
Warm thoughts of sympathy while you work through this difficult time.
I do not know you, but as a mother I share your grief.
My hugs and thoughts to all of you.
I seem to be taking after Martha – EVERYTHING brings up the water wells:-)
Know you are all in my thoughts!
Vic
Beautiful quotes.
You’ve been on my mind daily.
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.
womanwithsardinecan sends her thanks to all who have visited here, sharing thoughts and kind words for the sudden loss of her Nehemiah. She will be back home soon and I know that reading these heartfelt posts will help her in the days to come.
Thank you for any donations made – Nehemiah would definitely approve.
womanwithsardinecan is bringing home three charming kittens to foster until homes are found, and she’s going to give a whirl at settling Nehemiah’s adult kitty Tripper into her elderly one-dog-two-cat-already household. Fostering kittens is going to keep everyone occupied for awhile to say the least!
my thoughts are with you daily during this difficult time.
In time the memories replace the pain. But until then – the meaning of the beautiful words you have written can help give support and strengthen your everyday.
Beautiful thoughts, walkaboutstory. I’m so sorry.
I found out about your son through sangha-announce, the Shambhala listserv. I am so sorry. We don’t know each other but your postings are so moving. It is very generous to put them out there, for us all to read. The death of a son, violently, must be so difficult, inconsolable. Your words are making me want to hug my mother, who died a few years ago, and who endured similar grief. Nehemiah sounds like he was a terrific man.
The pain comes in waves. Usually I turn away from it, as it is too much for me to stand. Expressing my feelings and thoughts on this blog is one of the only positive ways I can deal with my grief right now. It is like talking to myself, but knowing others hear. Perhaps Nehemiah hears. I believe that he will always be with me, just as your mother is with you, but the loss of his human manifestation is a bleeding wound in my heart. Pain has taken on a whole new meaning for me.
Me Oh My Oh – I still think of Nehemiah by that unintended nickname.
You are always with us, and I think of you often.
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The more I have learned of him, and his aunts, the more special I know he was.
He will be in all your hearts forever!