Today is Memorial Day, summer's season of warmth and light.
How contrary a day to recognize those whose shining presence have passed.
Flowers will be brought to the cemetery. Tears will be shed.
Our hearts ache with painful longing. We feel the emotional vacuum left behind.
We will honor those felled by combat as well as those felled by life.
Know our grief is not empty. Know their lives were not in vain.
Their legacy remains in our hearts and memories.
With gratitude, we keep their contributions to us as a perpetual comfort.
In stillness we recognize even their weaknesses gave us strength.
Honoring them is to live life more fully, buoyed by their spirit.
On this day intended to remember lives lost, we also remind ourselves of the love they imparted to us. By releasing our armor and opening our hearts we never lose their presence.
In recognition of all those who have died, I bless them by reciting the Phowa:
"Through your blessing, grace and guidance,
through the power of the light that streams from you:
May all of your negative karma, destructive emotions, obscurations, and
blockages be purified and removed.
May you know yourself forgiven for all the harm you may have thought and done.
And through the triumph of your death, may you be able to benefit all other
beings, living and dead."
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