In My Sister’s Shoes
Originally published on August 3rd, 2023
Back in 2017, I asked my sister to contribute to a piece I was writing for Reiki News Magazine.. Here is what she had to say:
“Healing yourself is the most loving thing you can do for those around you because you have the ability to be more compassionate, caring, and loving. We become our true higher selves and only want the best for our loved ones and friends, which starts with being the best person we can be.”
Those two sentences contain the story of how she healed herself, how she healed her family, and how she helped to bring more love and peace to her corner of her community. Over the last eight years, she had studied five healing systems, attaining the level of master in three. On July 14th, she passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack.
Together, we healed physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We had always wanted to work together. Someday. When she could retire from her career as a recruiter. We talked about a podcast. It was going to be called “Soul Sisters.” We dreamed of helping to create a better world, where love and peace paved the way to better days. For us. For our families. For our world.
As I reflected on this, feeling sad that we never got the chance to work together, my son noticed the sadness in my face and said “Remember Mom: She’s still alive. She’s just in the energy.” This is how our family functions: by reminding each other of the truth of our existence. The physical body may cease to exist, but consciousness, and love, are eternal. It is all in the energy.
Together, my sister and I brought our mother, her daughter, and my husband into energy healing. Together, we had done the work to heal our family. Together, we broke cycles of intergenerational trauma. In my niece’s eulogy, she said that the last few years were the happiest their family had. By healing herself, my sister had given her family a great gift: that of being the best she could be. For herself. For her family. For our family. This is Laura’s legacy.
The name Laura represents the embodiment of victory and strength. The name Daphne, from ancient Greek, carries the same meaning. Last weekend I taught a healing course. On the way out the door, I decided to slip her sandals on. She had worn these sandals last summer on a trip to Greece. In these sandals, she had journeyed through ancient temples, over hills, and up Meteora’s mountains. She had gazed out at the brilliant blue of the Aegean below the ramparts of Rhodes, stopping to have her daughter take the picture above.
As I walked in Laura’s shoes, I could feel her energy with me. That morning, I found a dragonfly in my bathroom. Its wings were stuck on the drain, so I lifted them out. It crawled onto my hand and let me carry it outside, then flew away. It was the second one I had seen in the house, so I knew it was a message from Laura. As I taught the class, I could feel her energy and hear her guiding me. We were working together. So now, I journey forward, in my sister’s shoes, as we work together to realize our dream.
