Death

Ian Waller (b.12v45), a good student of John's who died of a heart attack (18vii88) on his way to his Tai Chi class (whilst munching a raw carrot), has been on my mind lately. I was trying to remember the 12 of us from Tai Chi who went to the funeral: Colin Stanton, Jenny Bewley, Eamonn Young, Belinda Bailey, Penelope Woolf, Christian Wilton, Leon Bryce, Lyndy Stout, Katkin Mayne, Me, Irenie Fawkes, Heron Beecham. I remember how important it was that we were there, representing the TaiChi side of Wal's life, 12 of us amongst over 300 or so rock stars (Wal was the bass player with Herman & the Hermits and co-ran a business called Electric Wood making high quality electric bass guitars (Wal Basses) for those who could afford them). It felt important that all the human threads in his life were there to send him on his way, onto the next leg of his journey, especially since he was on the verge of giving up his career to devote himself to Tai Chi full-time. I regret now not having attended the funerals of other Tai Chi colleagues - Larry Koenig, KitLean Chung & Natasha Duerden. They are all still strongly with me but especially Wal - he had the best heart - and in a sense that part of him is as alive now as it was when he was physically with us, and by remembering him I keep that thread of connexion alive - his heart to my heart. Gregory Bateson once said, "There are no objects, only relationships", and death certainly brings the truth of this home. Reality is the vast web of connectedness, not the material objects that litter our lives. If you honour those connexions and keep them alive and breathing then your life has meaning beyond the mundane and beyond death.