Ashley Davis Bush - Transitions and Loss Counseling, PLLC

Beautiful Death

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:00:10 +0000

My dear friend’s mother died recently. Helen was 88 years old and had been sick with kidney disease for 3 years. Her decline was not quick or pretty. And yet, her dying had a certain beauty to it . . . a peaceful acceptance . . . a surrendered willingness.

I attended an intimate ceremony this week celebrating the release of Helen’s spirit. It wasn’t a memorial service or funeral in the traditional sense. It was more of a spiritual send-off, a loving support of her transition to a nonphysical existence.

Martha spoke about her mother’s final months. She shared with us Helen’s mantra: “I only want to know the peace of God. God’s peace is all that I want.” As Helen shed her attachment to the world of form, she became calmly focused on a goal that most of us miss in the busyness of our daily lives.

I’ve heard that a dying person can become radiant as they prepare to leave this earth. Helen did. Her passing reminded me how simple and blissful the death of a body can be when it occurs without resistance or struggle. From what I’ve seen, it can indeed be the most natural transition of our lives . . . even the most beautiful.

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Trees

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:00:56 +0000

The first tree I fell in love with was a southern magnolia. That tree, as I recall, was absolutely huge - with low lying branches where a little girl could sit, sheltered from the Texas heat. In the spring it produced giant, fragrant blossoms - larger than my hands - that gave off the most heavenly scent imaginable. My mother used to put the blooms in bowls of water around the house so that the rooms would fill with the smell of magnolia. (more…)

Ode to Bella

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:00:11 +0000

A few weeks ago I blogged about freeing my bunny, Bella. Amazingly, for three weeks, she hung around our back yard as happy as could be. I would feed her a daily treat, hold her in my lap and sing to her. She grazed and roamed amongst the patches of clover. (more…)

Other Plans

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 10:00:16 +0000

I’ve written before about trying to sell my former home in Rye. For months and months I employed the traditional sales methods: open houses, advertisements, and heavy marketing. For months and months I experimented with nontraditional sales methods: rituals, sage smudges, and statue burials. Nothing. (more…)

Interdependence Day

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:00:37 +0000

Ah, the Fourth of July . . . hot dogs on the grill, brownies, fireworks, flags, and parades. What a wonderful celebration of our ancestors’ break from the British Empire and the creation of a new nation. (more…)

On a Dime

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 10:00:18 +0000

It had been a week of fever, crushing headache, body aches, joint pain, and a mysterious rash when I finally panicked and went to the emergency room for evaluation. What a bizarre world is the ER. I saw a man, severely sunburned from head to toe, who had fallen asleep in the sun. I saw another man pulling teeth out of his mouth, stating that he had fallen down a flight of stairs. I saw a mother holding a listless child in her arms. (more…)

Born Free

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:00:33 +0000

Four years ago, I went apple picking on a New England farm and came home with a bag of Macs and a black baby bunny. My children were initially thrilled with this new furry family member, but eventually the novelty wore off and Bella the bunny became my charge. (more…)

The Livin’ is Easy

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:00:28 +0000

The elementary school that I attended was on the top of a large hill. On the last day of school as summer vacation was officially proclaimed, we ran down the hill screaming at the top of our lungs. Now, a mother, as summer vacation begins, I also (on occasion) can be heard screaming at the top of my lungs. (more…)

Really Different

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 10:00:26 +0000

For 3 decades, he had two waist-length signature braids and then . . . snip . . . they were gone. It has been heralded as “the haircut heard around the world”. Why? Who? Willie Nelson, of course. I grew up in Texas where he was an icon. For all of us, those braids were his identity. (more…)

Commencement

admin — Fri, 28 May 2010 10:00:04 +0000

A sea of mortarboard caps . . . seniors with tear-soaked tissues . . . parents dabbing at moist eyes. Pomp. Circumstance. Ah . . . graduation.

When I graduated from high school, I was overcome by the end of life as I knew it. It was not only the end of school but also the end of my residence in Texas and the end of living with my parents. When I graduated from college, I was likewise cognizant of the ‘death’ of everything familiar. (more…)