I received very sad news the other day. A friend of mine died unexpectedly. She was only 57. She leaves behind her husband and three children, all of whom are still so young, late teens and early 20's. Her name was Norine. I met her when we were both attending St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing. We had a lot of laughs during school. Later, we met up again when I first began homeschooling Robert and Kristin. She was a wealth of information, gave me lots of ideas and some books. After our kids grew up we still kept in touch, sometimes for "tea lady" events, and most recently when I called her for advice on a situation with my grandson in the fall, and then more recently when we just called to chat. We had a good long talk that I am very grateful to have had.
I went to the
Shen Yun dance performance today (stunningly beautiful performance). The themes of many of the dances dealt with the divine and the struggles of life. I found this to be great comfort. In particular, one of the songs sung made me think of my grief at the loss of Norine. Although this song comes from a different faith practice than mine, the sentiments are universal, and I was particularly touched by this:
Life's True Meaning
by D. F.
Human life is ever changing
Joy and happiness always go hand-in-hand with worry and grief
Happiness is paved with hardship
When wishes don't come true I often wonder
What is human life after all?
Dafa helped me to understand the truth
Most people come from various heavenly paradises
When the heavens faced disaster we came to earth
To wait for the Creator to purify our lives
I have no more sorrow and am no longer lost
Because I waited, and now the Creator,
King of the Fa (Great Way of the Universe), has arrived
Because I am on a god's path to home
