This morning I was informed that my mother has passed away.

She was ill (end-stage renal failure, among other comorbidities), and old, and had recently suffered a stroke. Despite the inevitability of death for all of us, despite understanding her survival odds, and despite 18 years of trying to follow the Way, I still find that the difference between the expectations we come to accept and the actuality of the event has the power to stop me in my tracks.

The distance between us (half a world) weighs heavy.

I don't think I can say any more.