Greatness as a human being comes from beginning something in your life that doesn’t end with you……….. Today’s Thought is dedicated to my husband’s best friend, band mate in their band The Tombstones, and extraordinary base player George Dahmer……who left us yesterday to play on forever. When someone has been a part of your life for 50 years it is so very hard to contemplate their passing and worse to experience it, and so it is with heavy hearts we must say goodbye to our dearest friend, awesome husband, father, and grandfather. As I reflect on his life….I think of the awesome legacy he will leave his family and friends. You see George was one of those bright lights in this life journey that I write about….always with a ready smile, a compassionate heart, and true love of his family and friends. He embodied living in the present and living life to the fullest. His hugs were plentiful and they came all the way from his heart and soul to you. You felt loved when George was around and that included everyone.
Recently, as George and I reflected together….and he knew things were not well. He shared with me how blessed and grateful he felt to be married to the love of his life Bonnie …..and how grateful he was for her tender loving care during his illness. But even then George was worried about everyone else with respect to his health. He smiled gallantly as always, he played his guitar two weeks ago with his buddies Stan and Dennis and he reassured them that he was fine and up to playing. George was our beacon, he was our constant shining light and he spent his life in service to those he loved and to a few lost souls along the way. To say we will miss him is such an understatement…….but today we will honour his memory and look to happier times to know that we spent those years witnessing what it is to live a life that is truly remarkable. Play on brother and we will see you again.
Iyanla Vanzant said “At night, the ocean can be a huge, dark and scary place. When riding on the seas, you can never know for sure if the water will be calm or turbulent. That is why there are lighthouses. When ships lose their way, they are guided by the lighthouse. When there is trouble or danger at sea, you can seek refuge by the light of the lighthouse. So be a lighthouse. Let your life be a shining symbol for others. Let everything you do be in service to someone. Stand tall in the knowledge of who you are. Stand proudly in the midst of difficult times. Be aware that who you are and what you have to offer can be a beacon to some lost soul.”