Close to Our Hearts and Not Far Away (Spiritually) and Not Too Long Ago (Earth Time Wise)

Graduation Reflection Time, Some "Leave Sooner" Than Others...a poem from from 2002 by Kaelan Paton (1/1993-6/2009), a former Letter to the Editor of the Litchield County Times (CT-USA)

LEAVES

by Kaelan Palmer Paton, age 9

Lovely colors like a painting

Eventful seasons with extraordinary golds

Amazing shapes like thin ice on the water

Valuable reds fill the air

Easy yellows come down before deep oranges

Simple browns come down last but not least

It can be comforting to reflect on the personality and spirit of a person who is no longer walking the Earth. In July 2009, Sharon Center School teacher Monica Connor spoke endearingly of her former student and heroic teen Kaelan Palmer Paton at a large and mainly festive gathering at the school a month after he passed on June 16, 2009.

All of the family (on many branches of the tree and many friends as well) strive to live with respect and care as part of honoring Kaelan’s courage and love for others.

The lovely trees planted at the Sharon Center School and Housatonic Valley Regional High School, like his family and many of his friends, thankfully, are doing well. Still, for those struggling with any kind of challenge, we send our loving thoughts as do so many other caring folks.

The Class of 2012 thoughtfully dedicated a page to him in the White Oak Yearbook with his happy smiling face.

The memorial is on YouTube in short clips. Rope rescuer Skip Kosciusko risked his own life and succeeded in saving the youthful fellow Kaelan had tried valiantly to help after swimming a fair distance in dangerous waters and reaching his friend briefly.

There are more ideas shared on my blog, www.livfully.org, which explore ideas about sudden loss, difficult challenges in life and relationships and concerns for larger challenges.

Some say we can get help from our dreams, prayers and connections to those “on the other side.” Likely we have more help than most can imagine from other kind souls here on Earth and in the spiritual realm (and ideally if there is life on other planets, from those beings too, which www.tomreed.info explores about local possible visits.)

The hardest part for many in a life challenge (end of a relationship, illness or death, for instance) is feeling things are not fair, not anticipated or that there is nothing one can do to change what Did Happen and How Things Are Because of That.

Books by Mark Anthony and Bill Phillips and others paint a colorful array of possibilities that could likely help humanity as we face our collective future.

As life is like a bridge we each cross, we will all have times of loss.

Yet the gift of love is ours to give in not only how we die but moreover in how we live.

With sincere gratitude for all who connect in positive, caring ways and keep those who have gone on ahead of us to usher in new energies and ideas possibly. Let US All keep our hearts and minds open to positive ideas and healing on many levels. There is a Memorial Facebook page named Kaelan Alexander Paton.

Catherine Palmer Paton

Falls Village CT