Remembering Peter

Today is a year since my friend Peter Devlin left us. His life journey was all too short, but the impact he had on all who knew him was immense. His family , Fiona, Aoife, Orla and Oisin were his priority and his joy . He was blessed by their love and care in his journey through MND. Even in the depth of his illness he sought to highlight the importance of research into MND and took on with his family and so many others the task of raising money for research by swimming daily in the Atlantic . Today I remember especially Dev and thank the Universe for the blessing of his friendship on our shared journey.

All our lives are stories , and the stories we co-create with others birth the memories that we hold as treasures especially when death divides our shared journey. Death may divide but it does not separate. As long as we hold the memories and tell and retell the shared stories that arose from shared moments of the shared journey , those we love and hold dear, remain with us in spirit and in presence.

So today I thank the Universe for the gift of the friendship shared, the stories co-created and the adventure of those years when our life paths crossed . Today I call up the memories , and in the silence of prayerful mind I smile, shed a tear, and remember Dev. My thoughts, my energy and my prayers are sent out to his family as they too recall Peter, as husband, as dad, as football coach, as friend, as inspiration.

The seasons turn, leaves go golden, rusty brown and fall. The natural world has its own cycle of birth , death , rebirth and fulfilment , so too do we. Peter embraced nature, sought insight and wisdom in the "wild places", walked the beach of Streedagh and splashed in the crash of waves on shore, led adventures up Ben Bulben, and all the while nurtured new growth and life through his sustainable planting in the "earth church" that was his polytunnel.

His planting and nurturing was not just confined to his joy of hours spent in his "earth church", but was the core of his life's mission in terms of his work, his friendships, his ideas and challenges, and his care for others.

Peter loved poetry and drew particular comfort in his illness from these lines;

"I will not die an unlived life

I will not live in fear

Of falling or catching fire.

I choose to inhabit my days

To allow my living to open me,

To make me less afraid,

More accessible;

To loosen my heart "

Peter most certainly did not die an unlived life. In his conquering of fear, in his determination to embrace the moment he leaves us all with a message and a signpost for our own living and our own dying.

Today I remember Peter and allow the triggers of memory to stir the emotions of gratitude, sadness, joy and hope. Memories of standing in a field in Killowen Rostrevor during his days of working with young people. Memories of him having a beer in the main street of Sucina Spain. Memories of myself , my wife and son celebrating his birthday in his adopted Sligo.

Today is a day of remembering , but every day is an opportunity to recall the memories, hold his spirit close, and retell the stories we co-created with Peter.

And so, his story will never grow old

As our memories remain bright and undimmed

Our story continues

Enriched and forever entangled with his.

His presence never leaves us

For his spirit still lives

in the memories and the time shared.

His story offers

lessons on how a life can be lived.

No matter what life's length in days,

It is best judged by its depth of love

and its impact

On others whose journey crossed his.

We are the keepers of the flame

We are the guardians of the memories

We are the storytellers

Who gather generations yet unborn

To remember DEV.