Hmmm… where to start.
Feeling very emotional and vulnerable the past few days. Getting over bronchitis and I still have a fairly brutal cough- fortunately long spaces in between the bouts of hacking.
Lungs. Grief. I am resonating with that.
Today I walked by my friend Shin Ae Tassia’s picture on the bathroom wall. A dear friend who I met while she was undergoing treatment for metastatic breast cancer in 2015. I remember seeing her when I walked into the Integrative Care clinic where I was working at the time. She looked at me and said, “Do you do craniosacral therapy?” I said, “Yes. Do you want a session?” There was no hesitation on her part or mine. I asked when she wanted a session. She said, “Yesterday.” And we began from there. An immediate connection and powerful friendship. That was just who she was. Real. She passed on April 22, 2017.
For whatever reason when I saw her picture tonight it sort of bowled me over and I started weeping. Sometimes with the loved ones who are no longer embodied it feels like they are right here and the connection and the joy is palpable… and sometimes the absence is so strong. I had a wave of that- the deep sadness. Accompanied by the thought “Who are you? Who were you in my life? How did you hit me so hard and have such a huge unknowable impact?” She was an important person. She was a big person. She took up space in the world in the most beautiful way. She filled the space around her with her presence.
And the words that came to my mind were, “Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind…” You know the rest.
I watched and listened to several YouTube videos and came across this one with such wonderful images of those four brilliant men who called themselves The Beatles and who wrote that beautiful song that never ages, never grows old, that truly resonates forever, across the universe. I also googled Shin Ae Tassia and the first thing that showed up was actually a blog post that I wrote less than a year after she died. Here is a link to that post:
From The External to the Eternal
And check this out. As I was researching the song tonight I came across this - from the NASA website, posted on January 31, 2008. It turns out the song is truly traveling across the universe!!!
WASHINGTON - For the first time ever, NASA will beam a song - The Beatles "Across the Universe" -- directly into deep space at 4 p.m. Pacific Time (7 p.m. Eastern Time) on Monday, Feb. 4.
The transmission over NASA's Deep Space Network will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the day The Beatles recorded the song, as well as the 50th anniversary of NASA's founding and the group's beginnings. Two other anniversaries also are being honored: The launch 50 years ago this week of Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite, and the founding 45 years ago of the Deep Space Network, an international network of antennas that supports missions to explore the universe.
Technicians at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., where the Deep Space Network is managed, will send the command that will start the transmission.
The transmission is being aimed at the North Star, Polaris, which is located 431 light years away from Earth. The song will travel across the universe at a speed of 186,000 miles per second. Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney expressed excitement that the tune, which was principally written by fellow Beatle John Lennon, was being beamed into the cosmos.
"Amazing! Well done, NASA!" McCartney said in a message to the space agency. "Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul."
Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, characterized the song's transmission as a significant event.
"I see that this is the beginning of the new age in which we will communicate with billions of planets across the universe," she said.
It is not the first time Beatles music has been used by NASA; in November 2005, McCartney performed the song "Good Day Sunshine" during a concert that was transmitted to the International Space Station. "Here Comes the Sun," "Ticket to Ride" and "A Hard Day's Night" are among other Beatles' songs that have been played to wake astronaut crews in orbit.
Feb. 4 has been declared "Across The Universe Day" by Beatles fans to commemorate the anniversaries. As part of the celebration, the public around the world has been invited to participate in the event by simultaneously playing the song at the same time it is transmitted by NASA. Many of the senior NASA scientists and engineers involved in the effort are among the group's biggest fans.
"I've been a Beatles fan for 45 years - as long as the Deep Space Network has been around," said Barry Geldzahler, the network's program executive at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "What a joy, especially considering that 'Across the Universe' is my personal favorite Beatles song."
JPL built the Explorer 1 satellite and is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its launch. JPL also operates NASA's Deep Space Network. For information about the Deep Space Network, go to:
http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov