Tearful Goodbye

It's a quiet morning here. For that, I am grateful. Tears fall slowly down my face and I feel full of love and... sadness.

A good friend died this weekend. A friend who believed in me. A friend who helped me grow and become a lot of who I am and supported me to get to where I am on my journey as a healer. A friend who saw in me all that I could not see for myself. A friend who trusted me, loved me and strengthened me. A friend who opened her heart to me and let me in. A friend who, after a thirteen-year journey with cancer, died quietly and peacefully in her sleep, at her home, with loved ones around her.

Susan Porter was my friend. She taught me so much about trusting myself and my gifts. She was the first person willing to get on my table - and keep getting on my table every other week - and take on full healing from within. She was the first person able to see in me that which I could not see in myself, yet knew, somehow, was there as a gift to bring to other's lives. She was the first person that, even though the work I do is so powerful and sometimes frighteningly overwhelming, she kept coming back.

She taught me love of myself and she taught me that I do have the ability to change another's life. She showed me that, when working with me, she was pain-free for over a year. She showed me that, through working with me, we could extend her life and get beyond the clutches of cancer and have her live a strong, beautiful life for awhile.

After a three-month break last autumn, wherein I came back to life from the Nile and she tried to recoup her strength from a strenuous project at summer's end, she got on my table in January of this year and I knew that this would be the year that I laid one of my warriors to rest. I cried then and I cry now because the world is less one brave soul who knew how to lead others into the light. I cry now because my friend is no longer here for me to physically touch and hug and laugh with. I cry now because... Sue is gone.

I love you, Sue. I am grateful for the impact you have had on my life. I am thankful for all that you brought into my world and for what I gained in knowing you. Thank you for believing in me, loving me and encouraging me to continue forward, even when I didn't know how or couldn't see the way. Thank you for allowing me into your heart and sharing with me your wisdom. And, mostly... I thank you for sharing our journey.

Blessed be, my friend. Blessed be.