“Having made the decision to love, had I chosen life instead of death?”  -Richard Bach

Those who have been reading the Bliss Blog for awhile, may know that one of my favorite authors is Richard Bach; he of the vivid imagination and relationships with characters that are, in essence, at times, writing the stories and he sits back and watches where they are going to lead him. He is wide open to adventure and taking his devoted readers along for the ride. I jumped on board the wings of Jonathan Livingston Seagull in the early 1980’s when my friend Albert Borris gave me a copy of the book  about daring to live outside the box (or the flock) and about the importance of honoring our connections with each other. He had highlighted this quote which proved to be true, since although we don’t see each other more than once or twice every year or so, we remain friends.

“If our friendship depends on things like space and time, then when we finally overcome space and time, we’ve destroyed our own brotherhood! But overcome space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now. And in the middle of Here and Now, don’t you think that we might see each other once or twice?”   I’ll bet you have people in your life who fit into that category. I’m blessed to have many.

In my role as a journalist, I had the joy of interviewing this prolific wordsmith who penned Illusions, The Bridge Across Forever, One, Running From Safety  and many others that beckon the reader to suspend judgment and open to the possibility that life is infinitely fascinating and that things are not always as they appear to be. I was delighted to discover that his writing and speaking styles are similar. Back then I was in the process of writing a book with slice of life stories that eventually evolved into the Bliss Mistress book. He had asked me this profound question: “Do you love this book?”  It sent tingles through me and I responded with an emphatic “Oh yes!” and he told me that I needed to get it out there in the world.  At the time, I wasn’t ready to publish it, but a decade or so later, I was. Some things take awhile to cook thoroughly.

I have recommended his books to anyone wanting to become a spiritual explorer. Illusions inspired me to give out feathers at my workshops and Running From Safety brought into my life an exercise in which my current day self has a conversation with my 22 year old self with the title “What I Wish I Knew When I Was You”. I discovered that he has an interactive blog on his website and a facebook page on which I jumped eagerly, like a trampoline with kindred spirits who hold hands and leap and tumble. A few days ago, Richard posted a world wide invitation for folks to gather on an undecided date, to commune about the ideas we hold dear. A family ‘reunion’ of sorts. I eagerly gave the idea a thumbs up and knew I needed to be there. I waited for an indication of when that would be.

Yesterday, a totally unexpected message came through, as my friend Jacob Nordby sent an email with a blog about Richard (an avid and experienced pilot) and his plane that he dubbed Puff  that had made a crash landing and that he had sustained injuries and was in a hospital. My immediate thoughts ran to “He knows this is perfect.” “What a great story he’ll have to tell folks.” “All is well.”  Those were the sentiments echoed on his pages and in a phone call today that was organized by someone close to Richard; coach, writer and speaker Dixie Gillaspie. It was the cross continental version of what he had proposed, with soul friends who are family of choice sharing their prayers and intention for his wellbeing.  I was moved by how many who called in, affirmed the influence Richard had on their lives. I gladly joined the orchestra, singing out my thoughts that he was a big reason I became a professional writer.

In this moment, I hold him in light, love and complete and total healing and ask that you do as well.

It’s just how the Universe works.

http://youtu.be/mgkk0Hdwmo8 Be by Neil Diamond