I had heard that my friend and long time co-worker Christine Hartmann was on a cancer journey far away in her native Germany. Then several things came together: overlooking the garden from my room in Cluny, thinking of Christine’s work in the garden, tuning in, visually saying hello to the places she loved, the trees she loved, connecting with some music I had heard recently, slow music, taking my phone and going out into the gentle afternoon and starting to take longish video snippets.  Being conscious and present, with all parts of the process being slow, taking whatever time was required to gather all the pieces and gently allowing the assemblage to come together whilst holding the soul of Christine in the garden in my mind, has resulted in this video dedicated to Christine.

On 14th July 2021 I wrote on Facebook: I am witnessing a friend who is close to dying. We both believe that dying is an end to the life on this planet, and our souls carry on elsewhere. This painting is to me an expression of the journey from our physical life, on the way to the non-physical. On the journey ‘home’.

 

Christine died peacefully in a hospice in Germany. She was a beautiful poet and I want to share one of her poems here.

The LOVE

we give

and

receive

is fuel

for the

light

in us

it can

never

die

but shining

bright

may we

nourish

our hearts

and become

a beacon

for each

other