Amidst all the crazy busy-ness of my life over the past few days, the news of Natasha Richardson's death certainly gave me a moment's pause. A freak accident, seemingly inconsequential, and in a few days the life of a vibrant and successful woman is over. Looking at her smiling face in photos on the internet and television was a harsh reminder of the way in which life can change in an instant, all our hopes and dreams whisked away. And I was reminded of another loss, another beautiful, talented young woman, a high school student I knew only too briefly, whose life was taken by a drunk driver on St. Patrick's day, 2001. I had stopped to glance at her photo just the other day, when I was at school waiting for rehearsal to begin, remembering her pure soprano voice and graceful poise. Cruising down the expressway last night on my way to (yet another!) rehearsal, I looked into my rearview mirror and found it filled with the most spectacular view of the sun setting in a spectrum of apricot and turquoise. I wanted to stop, turn around, and just let myself fall into that gorgeous sight, breathe in the stillness of that eternal process, the sun rising and setting each day, going about its beautiful business, while we rush madly about on the earth.
But I drove on, in a hurry as always to get to the next thing, do the next task, perform the next piece.
If you have a chance today, stop for a moment an admire something of beauty.
Stop for a moment and enjoy this dance of life.