>    Luciano Pavarotti, the gifted tenor, died yesterday. Seven years ago today my Father died. I am thinking about how we honor those who impact our lives when they are no longer with us in body. It may seem a little strange, but I learned how to do that from a dog I once loved. His name was Link.
    Link had a sense of humor (really!) and a seemingly boundless zest for life. He liked to do silly things that made me laugh out loud. When he was about 4 years old I was going through a tough time in my life. We went out for a walk one day and, lost in my own sadness, I turned my attention from watching him to feeling sorry for myself. In that instant, he bounded across the street, was hit by a speeding car and died in my lap on the way to the vet. I was devastated.
    In order to bring meaning to it all, I realized that Link had been an example of living each moment full of joy and heightened energy. Unable to teach me that in life, I learned it from him in death.
    The way to honor is by taking the best of what someone has brought to the world and live it.
    My Father was a strong-willed, self-made entrepreneur who was usually only available for family in a crisis. But he had a heart “as big as Texas” and a charitable nature that was remarkable. No matter how he came to know about a story of suffering or lack, he set about to try and do something to alleviate it. All the dictionaries in our home had the word “can’t” crossed out. My Father said there was no such word as “can’t” if you really wanted to do something. When he passed away, I spoke about his charitable nature as a way for his spirit to live on.
    I didn’t know Luciano Pavarotti…other than what I’ve read about him. But it seems to me he found the creative gift that made him the unique individual he was and embraced it, and life, with passion. It’s a wonderful teaching.
    All of the things that happen to us in our lives have no independent meaning other than what we attribute to them.
    I could have spent my life regretting that day I turned my eyes from watching Link and remained bitter for the times my Father was unavailable. Instead, I carry a permanent smile in my heart for Link’s joyful zest for life and try and emulate my Father’s will to uplift and prevail no matter what.
    As for Pavarotti, he will always be for me a guiding light for embracing my unique creative gift. I am a writer.
    Like all writers periodically do, I had recently been questioning and doubting my talent and whether or not it’s all “worth it.”  My gratitude to Pavarotti for reminding me how to honor a life and bring meaning to it. I have once again embraced my love of writing.
    Today, this blog was written solely because of the meaning Luciano Pavarotti’s life has brought to mine.

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