11/11/2025
Today would have been my dad’s 80th birthday. Veterans Days carries a double meaning: honoring his service, celebrating his life, and remembering that the day he left this body in July was, in a sense, his new birth into the spirit world.
My dad was a mentor in the truest sense. He showed me not just what to do, but also what not to do…the choices, the hesitations, the actions he wished he had taken differently, and in that, he taught me powerful lessons. Some of his wisdom came very late in his own life, but now I carry it with me every day. I know he is still with me, guiding me quietly, even if I can no longer reach out and hug him.
Grief is a low-vibration emotion, and yet it is natural. In my yoga practice and in the journey toward Samadhi, the state of blissful union, I am learning to honor grief without attachment. Attachment (raga in Sanskrit) is the root of suffering; non-attachment (vairagya) allows freedom, clarity, and peace. The body is only a vessel, and recognizing this truth has been a key step in understanding life, death, and my own consciousness. Feeling grief without clinging allows me to honor him fully while continuing to live with awareness, love, and joy.
Death is not an ending; it is an opening. It is a doorway to a new perspective, a new form of being, a continuation of love beyond the physical. My dad’s passing is a reminder that life and death are deeply intertwined, that attachment and release coexist, and that every breath, every memory, every act of love matters.
Today, I celebrate him…his life, our friendship, the lessons he taught me, and the guidance he continues to provide. I honor him by embracing both the pain and the beauty, the attachment and the freedom, the life he lived and the spirit he continues to be. His wisdom, his laughter, his mentorship, and his love are gifts I carry with me every day.
Happy birthday, Dad. In this world and the next, your presence remains eternally, gently, lovingly guiding me forward.
💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗