I was going through some old family photos yesterday with my cousin Joe. He’s been researching and chronicling our family genealogy for years, so he was thrilled as I was to explore the two, filled to the brim boxes of old family photos from my back closet. These photos hadn’t seen the light of day in many years, and I was so surprised to see love in so many of them. Seeing with new eyes, that had not seen until now what had been there all along, I’m so grateful for the growth, and compassion that enabled my new perspective. I stayed up long into the night, dividing the photos to share with my girls and other family members.
I fell asleep thinking about our beloved family pet, a miniature red poodle with a heart so vast and love-filled, that a warm feeling washes over me at the thought of her. She lives far away with my daughter, and I don’t see her as often now as I would wish. I’ve had so many pets, dogs, cats birds, and even a red howler monkey when I lived in Haiti, yet she is the one who touches me deeply. She opened my heart with her openness, and sweet, unconditional love. I awoke with her on my mind this morning as well, and I remembered that there is no distance with love. I’m sure that she’s feeling my love as I think about her.
As I passed the boxes of photos this morning, I smelled my Mom’s perfume wafting around me. It followed me into my office as I began writing, and again, I receive her message that love has no distance. It transcends even death. Life is eternal. Death is just a change of form, transition into another dimension. The love never dies.
© 2013 MarBeth Dunn – all rights reserved
