Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

A friend died Tuesday after an over four year battle with lung cancer.  She was diagnosed with six months to live, but her indomitable spirit and great doctors gave her four years of quality life, with work, travel and friends.  She had a great sense of humor.  One of those people who can laugh at herself with genuine joy.  She was an enthusiast, and her exuberance carried you off with her.  She said exactly what she thought, whether it was tactful or not.  Therefore, you could trust everything she said to be her true point of view.  She loved to argue, and being a lawyer, she got plenty of opportunity.  Her sense of fun was contagious.  She leaves behind a daughter as strong and forthright as herself, and a devoted husband.  She was in a study of religions group of mine for ten years, and a couple of years ago she insisted we should have a reunion, and I gave in and hosted a luncheon to which everyone came except a person living in another state.  When she spoke, she was so honest and true about her cancer and all the feelings, thoughts and emotions, that it caused a ripple effect.  Everyone else around the table spoke in a similar deep hearted manner, and I'll never forget that few hours of the meeting of hearts, not minds.  I cried.  Her courage and tenacity were a beacon to us all.