When I was 11, my father passed away.
This event forever changed my life. Everything that I had come to know in those 11 eleven years, passed away with him. Even the mother that I had known was gone — changed by a circumstance that was completely out of our control.
For many years, I dealt with this loss by holding onto what was tangible and by not allowing myself to become too attached. I respected and studied paths that practiced this non attachment. I married a man who I was not completely connected to, somehow trying to ensure that if I lost him, I wouldn’t lose everything.
I stayed passionate about my music, and it has followed me and led me – weaving a course of light throughout both the easy and the difficult. I had children early on and found that I couldn’t limit my attachment to them, couldn’t protect myself from hurt or loss and realized that when you love dearly, you don’t care that you can’t protect yourself.
As time went on, I began to learn a very valuable lesson: In order to “have” that which is most dear to us, we must be passionate about it. And, if we are passionate about something or someone, then we are connected and attached and we cannot shield ourselves from the possibility of loss. It’s a paradox of life: great love is great risk. You cannot give all and hold back at the same time. If you’re going to skate, you have to let go of the wall. If you’re going to fly, you have to let go of the perch. If you’re going to love, you have to let go of the fear.
