It has been six years now since my best friend and beloved husband, Justin Ripley passed away. It has taken me this length of time to finally come to terms with it; to reconcile with my loss; to forgive and let go; and to embrace truth and reality. It has not been an easy journey but it has been filled with lessons on the impermanent nature of all things. I don’t think any lesson could have been more real than to lose someone so suddenly and in the most unexpected way, and to have it happen at the worst possible time ever. Justin’s death is, for me, proof that life can end at any time and it will happen when you least expect it. Losing Justin was the worst experience I have ever had, even more so than losing my parents to death. It was the kind you thought you’d only see in the movies, like a nightmare you wish you could wake up from. All the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ could not bring him back. In the end, nothing else could soothe the pain except the Dharma I heard and learnt from my Guru, His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche. […]