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Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
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Friday, July 3, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
My Friend Geoff Sachs
It's been over a week now that I learned that my friend Geoffrey Sachs died of cancer. As well as I knew this delightful man who was full of life and love for people, music, and the outdoors, in many ways his life was an enigma to me. I met Geoffrey almost 2 decades ago (hard to believe) on a ski trip at Mt. Baker. We connected instantly. I was attracted to his East Coast sensibilities, his South African accent, his love of Judaism, his energy, his outgoing personality, and his ability to connect easily with others. We had so many things in common. I fell for him hard. Although the romantic side of our relationship did not last, our friendship did for many years.
Most of our contact was over the phone as he lived in Vancouver and I in Seattle. We went on many camping trips with friends from Vancouver and Seattle and helped connect others across the border. I wouldn't be surprised if a few marriages came from these connections. Geoffrey pulled together Chinex (I'm sure I'm spelling this wrong) with friends; this was a regular event that gathered together musicians and other Jewish performers to entertain other Jews in the Vancouver area. Geoffrey worked on me for at least a year convincing me and even coming to Seattle to help me start my own Jewish coffeehouse, which I ran with Asher Hashash for 5 years.
More than anything Geoffrey was the person I always went to when something great happened or something bad. He always had sage advice and in many ways knew me better than I knew myself. As the years went on I didn't think either Geoff or I would meet that special someone. But he did. Marianne came into his life via the phone. She had met him once in Vancouver and started a long distance phone relationship from her home in Montreal as a result of seeing his picture in a news article. I didn't think it would be permanent but he asked her to marry him after 6 weeks of phone conversations; he hadn't even met her. He said that their souls had connected. After their marriage, our relationship was never the same. I think it many ways Geoffrey was a lost soul who had finally met his match. Many of us could speculate as to what the last 10 years of his life was like but then that would only be speculation. I prefer to think of him how I knew him and loved him. He had a huge heart and a love of life whose fire went out way too soon.
Most of our contact was over the phone as he lived in Vancouver and I in Seattle. We went on many camping trips with friends from Vancouver and Seattle and helped connect others across the border. I wouldn't be surprised if a few marriages came from these connections. Geoffrey pulled together Chinex (I'm sure I'm spelling this wrong) with friends; this was a regular event that gathered together musicians and other Jewish performers to entertain other Jews in the Vancouver area. Geoffrey worked on me for at least a year convincing me and even coming to Seattle to help me start my own Jewish coffeehouse, which I ran with Asher Hashash for 5 years.
More than anything Geoffrey was the person I always went to when something great happened or something bad. He always had sage advice and in many ways knew me better than I knew myself. As the years went on I didn't think either Geoff or I would meet that special someone. But he did. Marianne came into his life via the phone. She had met him once in Vancouver and started a long distance phone relationship from her home in Montreal as a result of seeing his picture in a news article. I didn't think it would be permanent but he asked her to marry him after 6 weeks of phone conversations; he hadn't even met her. He said that their souls had connected. After their marriage, our relationship was never the same. I think it many ways Geoffrey was a lost soul who had finally met his match. Many of us could speculate as to what the last 10 years of his life was like but then that would only be speculation. I prefer to think of him how I knew him and loved him. He had a huge heart and a love of life whose fire went out way too soon.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Hugs from Amma
If you've never had the chance to go see Amma known today as the "only living saint", it is an experience you should have at least once in your life. This woman is the embodiment of love. She is from India and it is recorded that by the age of 2she was singing devotional songs to God. From an early age she reached out to others to help the poorest of the poor. By age 21 she had attracted sincere spiritual seekers and began her own ashram in 1981. I first heard of her from my Hellerworker who was a strong devotee and who had visited her ashram. But I neve had the change to go see her myself. Yesterday I had that change. Everyone receives a token when they arrive. This token let's you know what order you will be in to receive a hug from Amma. This is what she does. I arrived much later than I had hoped so received a token labeled W-2. I was able to convince someone to move me up so that I could get my hug. It all went very quickly. Those helpers guide you to put kneel, put your head into her chest to receive her hug. She whispered something unintelligable into my ear. I did walk away crying. Not sure if that was from the hug or just a reaction to the whole experience. If you go next year, arrive aroung 8:30am...or be prepared to wait awhile to get your hug. If it's your first time you likely won't be turned away even if you arrive late.
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