Recently, Tim, the husband of a good friend of mine passed away after a long struggle with cancer and its debilitating effects. I only knew Tim through the heartfelt and moving stories of loving care that my friend gave to her ailing husband.
When I read the email this morning from mutual friends that Tim has passed away, my heart broke even though I had never actually been in the room with him. I had never known him before the illness weakened his body and spirit. He lived for me only through sincere, raw, real and loving descriptions and the pictures in my mind that those words created.
And so I believe we live, and exist, within the love of those who love us. No matter how distant in space or time the death of someone else's loved one may be with respect to our own existence, there is the potential for empathy when we listen closely to the words spoken about a person. We can, then, make a connection to the person, whether that person is alive or lived 10, 100, or 1,000 years ago. Our potential for empathy is a gift from God, who made us in God's image, allowing us to have a small window into what is eternal.
May Tim's memory always be for a blessing, yi'hay zichro baruch.
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