Feeling emotionally raw at the moment, having just returned from a day of honoring my friend Delane Lipka. I had written about another extraordinary day in a previous Beliefnet article called In the Garden of Eden that described a gathering of kindred spirits that had been organized by Delane. For decades, she had run Mount Eden Retreat and this event two weeks ago was a last hurrah of sorts. We didn’t know it at the time, but perhaps her soul knew that she would be leaving this earthly home that she and her husband Harry who died in 2007, had loved into being and  return to the Home of her origin.

On Friday night, I was sitting around a table with 9 friends as we celebrated the birthday of my friend Ken Kaplan. We had been speaking of Delane since we were all connected to her in some way. Less than 30 minutes later, one of our friends who has long considered himself Delane’s brother, received a call from another of our friends, informing him that she had passed. Shock, tears, laughter, sharing stories about her, ensued. We had the sense that she had swooped by to take her leave and say goodbye.

On my way home, I called two friends to let them know.  I felt goose bumps when each of them said, “I was just talking about Delane a little while ago.”  Seems she came to visit them too.

The graveside ceremony was attended by people from Delane’s amazing overlapping soul circles. Some of the first I saw when I arrived on this beautiful blue sky day were from my past; one who had been my Hebrew School teacher and has been a rabbi for many years, who saw my father as a mentor of sorts, and a man who had been friends with both my father and my husband.  I had forgotten that they too were part of Delane’s far flung family of choice. The usual suspects were there as well…those who were at dinner the other night and those who were at the Kindred Spirits gathering a few weeks earlier. Although we are an affectionate bunch anyway, hugs lasted longer than usual. When someone dies, those who remain rely on each other’s comfort to remember that life indeed goes on.  The service was a beautiful blend of traditional Jewish ritual and prayer, as well as sharing Quaker style of stories about her creativity, unique character, kindness, open-heartedness, and an inimitable way of embracing everyone who crossed her path.

After the service, many us went back to Mt. Eden to enjoy each other’s company and continue the tribute to Delane. I had spent many glorious weekends there at Goddess retreats that honored the Divine Feminine. In the meditation room where the workshops were held, was a window seat that overlooked an expanse of sloping lawn and vibrant green, now subtly autumnally changing, trees. I perched on the ledge as the tears flowed. I remembered so much stretching and growth that took place in that room. I laughed to myself when I thought “If these walls could talk.”

I meandered about the grounds, both with friends and by myself, drinking in the blessing of this place. A favorite spot was a hammock beneath some spreading pines. It was there that I used to lie during the retreats and call my mother who lived in Florida for many years before she died. I would say, “Guess where we are, mom?” and we would hang out there together. Today, I returned to the swinging structure and spoke with my mom without need for the apparatus that had connected us, instead speaking soul to soul. She and Delane would have bonded, had they met, having some good laughs together and speaking about this messhugenah (Yiddish for ‘crazy’) daughter.

One of our friends who saw Delane as her “adopted Jewish mother,” is Elaine Silver. A talented singer songwriter, she recalls that Delane used to encourage her to “enjoy every moment.”  I can hear her voice sharing those words and hold them in my heart, since I too know that life is precious and that everyone is on loan to us.  Elaine penned this song on the flight from Florida where she lives, to come up for Delane’s funeral, as a way of paying tribute to our dear friend.