Yesterday we got word that Erika Luckett made her transition. Many of us knew her to varying degrees, but mostly through the power of the music that she and Lisa Ferraro made. I did not know Erika well, but I am deeply touched by her passing. It has brought many thoughts and feelings to my mind.

I think whenever anyone passes it might make us reflect on our own life and how we are spending our time and energy. As someone said in a FB post about Erika, “we have a short time in these earthly suits.”

I’m not so concerned about time and how much I have or don’t have. I understand and feel that life is eternal. However, this does not give me an excuse to not make every day precious, to commit to my expansion. Questions I ask are: Am I living fully? Am I procrastinating the things I say I want to do? Am I loving deeply? Am I totally myself, giving all my talents and love. Am I deepening my oneness with all.

If I feel anything right now it is the commitment to keep taking deep breaths and living in the moment with what I have and who I am with. If I feel anything right now it is the committment to not hold back, to speak my truth, to live in joy.

Again, for me, it is not about the time we have left on this plane of action; it is about how we spend our time every day. If we live to be 120 or if we pass on at any age, will we be able to say I lived fully. I gave up my grievances. I forgave myself and others. I didn’t carry the past with me into the present. I lived as a fully expressed being of love to the very best of my ability, giving and receiving love, having compassion for everyone and walking in peace. Did I grow in faith and trust? Did I appreciate myself right where I was in every moment and learn to love myself? There are a multitude of questions to answer, as many as we are different and unique.

Thank you Erika for yet another wake up call. I feel immortality when I think of you not mortality. It is a deep feeling of gratitude to know that I can live fully right now, not worried about how much time I have, but being timeless, energy now.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Rita