May 19, 2009

The Saturday started with thunderstorms and ended with even more rain. But in between the two storm systems, the skies burst open with sunlight for a few hours just as about a hundred of us gathered by the side of the forest at Hilton Falls. That brief interlude of warmth felt magical, raw, full of tenderness.

We gathered there to celebrate Chris’ life. Chris died a week earlier due to skin cancer, and in our own way we all felt devastated. When someone passes away especially at a young age, it’s customary to say “he lived life fully,” or “he inspired us to live better.” Sometimes those are just words. But with Chris all these statements are heartbreakingly true.

Secretly, Chris was my inspiration. He ran his own successful web design studio, took awesome photos, loved music, fixed up old, rusty VW vans and took them for road trips into the mountains. He was also one of the nicest guys I’ve ever hanged out with.

And everyone who ever met him felt much the same way. So to celebrate his awesomeness, we all went for a walk in the forest and paused by the edge of the river to hold one another.

The waterfall wailed in the background. And the voices of the mourners felt so fragile, so vulnerable underneath the canopy of the trees while the sun danced through the leaves. It was a beautiful way to celebrate Chris. We felt more human and more alive for having shared his life and death.