In Tribute

I never met Perry - his mom is a friend of a friend. He died a week ago, just a few weeks short of his 12th birthday.

Perry clearly packed a lot of love into his short life, and this memory of him is a beautiful tribute to a life well-lived and well-loved:

And as our hearts break at the loss of our beautiful Perry, we need to remember the life he loved and was so good at is the life we live right here, right now. We need to let our sadness flow, but we also need to be joyful. Perry was.

Remembering Perry will remind us of our great loss, but we must not forget our gain. Perry made the world a better place; it is a better place still for having had him. We need to remember Perry so we can look through his eyes and see all the love and pleasure and play and people available to us, here, now, and rejoice.

Hearts breaking, our loss; and yet the joy, the love, the play, the people, here and now. We have to hold all of this at once.

Peace be with you, Perry, and with your family. The world is definitely a better place for your being here.