Ana Tampanna

My beautiful, vibrant friend, Mashelle Odom, died Saturday. Younger than I, she had a double stroke, then her kidneys shut down. Within  5 days, she was gone. Most of us had no idea she was hiding an illness.

 

Just one week before she died, we had hugged at a business event.  I didn’t know that was my goodbye, but I’m deeply grateful that I had an opportunity to exchange an affectionate gesture of friendship.

 

You see, we had had a falling out. A shared business venture didn’t go as we expected. We had sunk our time, money, and energy into an effort that simply didn’t pan out. We were both devastated, and went our separate ways, feeling disgruntled and disappointed.

 

A year later we reconnected, and forgave each other. It was not a big deal, just a simple acknowledgement of each other’s innocence. No blame, or holding grudges. We both understood that we had done our best, and that the economy was not in our favor.

 

Our reconciliation and hug right before her death has me searching through my mental files of relationships. Who else do I need to complete with?

 

Do you have any fragmented friendships in your relationship file?

Is there anyone you need to forgive? Or who you need to ask forgiveness from?

Do you avoid anyone?

Is there a family member you need to acknowledge? Someone hurting from your lack of attention or a last conversation that contained stinging words?

 

We don’t know when we are leaving this earthly realm. Friends and family members, like Mashelle, often leave suddenly. Completions are important and empowering. I can not express the relief I feel knowing that Mashelle and I were complete with each other.

 

Most of us have lists of people who are gone that we wish we had acknowledged one last time. If only they knew what an impact they had made in our lives, what a legacy they were leaving for us. Sometimes we don’t realize the greatness of their impact until years later.

 

You can enjoy the riches from those relationships by writing letters to those people. These  expressions of gratitude, though unmailed, become priceless treasures for your journal, keeping top of mind the values, perspective, and growth nurtured in you by someone else.

 

Dear Mashelle, Thank you.