I guess because you've been on my mind all week... Had a dream last night that I went to your house and you were with a lot of people, as Shiva was being held. So I went outside, and was by the water, when your son Danny came up and started talking about love and how he had just realized how much he was surrounded by love. Then we went inside and someone had started building shelves and putting shoes on them .. to sell. Not your shoes, they were going to open a shoe shop. Have NO idea what any of that might mean ... possibly nothing! But it was odd I even recalled it, and still now later in the day its so vivid.
I sat with her dream for awhile. Then I wrote her back:
First of all, what Danny said to you was exactly what he has been saying to the many visitors who came during the week of Shiva which ended yesterday...
Here is what I understand about the second part of the dream, the shoes: Tom was the most grounded person I have ever met. He was the source of stability for our family and for so many that came in touch with him. The way he walked on this earth was solid. He modeled a way of living that was present, mindful in each moment, whether talking to someone, looking at or painting a piece of fruit or a cloud, sailing a boat, fishing with his granddaughters or repairing any of the broken things that it seemed only he could fix.
During the week of Shiva, as we talked about his life, we were dispensing stories about the way he walked in the world. The memories people shared of the impact he had on them offered very vivid examples of how to live as he did, with two feet on the ground. The shoes, the way to walk, were on the shelves for all to see. Each person that visited was given the opportunity to "buy" what they were hearing - to take ownership of their own way of walking in the world in the grounded way that Tom walked.
Does the shoe fit? Anyway, that's how I interpret the dream ....
Please feel free to offer comments so that I and others may benefit. In future postings, I hope to share some stories about Tom and reflections about our life together.
