This morning, I was scheduled to whirl for another Ramadan dhikr in Beirut–even though the beautiful dhikr from the night before ended only several hours before. I didn’t think I would be able to whirl at all today–because when I woke up, I received some terrible news: my friend had been brutally murdered in Hawaii. Her family, her friends–we are all stunned…
In the words of her acting coach, “She was the sweetest, nicest. If you talk to anybody, they’ll tell you she was the most quiet, unthreatening, gentle person you could imagine.” In fact, most of the people with whom she shared her sweet generosity, cheerful spirit, and deep insight called her an angel–brimming with love and light. Being in her peaceful and luminous presence was to be both humbled and inspired…
In all of the coverage of her death, everyone keeps repeating the same refrain: any death is sad–but to lose someone like her is tragic–she touched so many lives, and gave so much–and with such sweetness…
Despite the heavy weight of this loss, I still attended the dhikr this morning–to whirl for her and in her memory. The Lebanese Sufis at the dhikr graciously extended their condolences–along with their hearts & prayers–for a woman half way around the world whom they never met–but they seemed just as shocked and sad to hear the news as I was…as we all were…
And so for our dear friend, I whirled…filled with many more questions than answers–filled with a longing to keep her beautiful spirit alive…
In the hearts of all of those remembering her tonight–aching with loss and longing–her soul’s light is clearly still shining through. Violence may have ended her life, but it can’t extinguish all of the light and love she gave to this world–which remains in our hearts. This dance–and all future ones–are for you, dear friend…