Meanwhile, here is a link to all of my pictures on Shutterfly (127) where you can view and also order some if you wish: Pictures from the day
I will post a few here. It was also requested yesterday that people post here some of what they said yesterday. The stories and memories were all so wonderful. If you are not yet an author (you need to be to post here), send me an email at MartyR@sonic.net and I will make you an author. Once you receive the email invitation, you will have to reply to get in and post. Or click on 0 Comments below any post to add a comment.
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| Paul did a wonderful job shepherding the proceedings |
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| Sister Lois reading a very funny email from Tom |
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| Sister Jan |
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| Sister Ruth |
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| Long time friend Yvonne |
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| Long time friend Emma (Maryanna) |
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| I'm an interloper here. Everyone else in the pic (except Shadow) lived at Bennett Valley. But I was a close cousin! |
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| One of several altar displays |
Tom's family. Unfortunately sister Jan missed the picture... : (
Here's the quote from one of his journals from 1993.
ReplyDelete"...some ideas of what I would like people to say about me - at my funeral - 3 years from now.
August 26, 3:15 p.m.
I would like to acknowledge in Tom a person who showed us all that fundamental character change is possible. From the time 3 or 4 years ago when he started to get a "handle" on the process of self-knowledge, self-acceptance, and self-love until his death a few days ago, he demonstrated remarkable personal growth. He developed from a person who lacked spontaneity, inspiration, compassion, conviction, honesty and joy of life, into a compassionate person of great integrity who lived a principled life full of conviction and decisiveness. He became a person who was always in touch with his own deep, inestimable value, and as such, always acted from a calmness grounded in his deepest, clearest, most authentic self. He became a truly happy person who smiled and laughed easily and often. In his own easy way, he lifted our spirits and helped us to feel valuable. He always seemed to assign a higher priority to hearing and understanding others than on being heard and understood himself.
He was far from perfect. He was continuously dealing with his laziness - his tendency towards entropy. He would reach a new plateau of growth and acceptance feeling on top of the world only to slip back to his old ways of not tending to his life, in the moment. But he grew to the point where he did not feel defeated by his lapses - he always knew there was a solid core of integrity within him - so...he would unabashedly recommit himself to his goal of becoming a person of solid, principled character. He did not let his mistakes drag him down, and as time went by he recovered from those hellish times more and more and more quickly and they recurred less and less often - his values and principles were sinking deeper and deeper into his being. It became easier for him to think and act in congruence with them.
Tom learned to face his fears, anger, sadness and even his joy - going into his feelings fully, accepting them and taking responsibility for them.
Maybe most importantly, Tom learned of the power and magic of commitment. Energy began to flow through him and from him in ways he had scarcely imagined previously. He became a powerful force for love and positive change within his expanding sphere of influence."
So, there it is in its entirety.