My friend, Indigo, passed away yesterday afternoon in Kamloops.
The world seems a lesser place today, bereft of an generous, inspiring, vivacious soul. The suddenness of it all seems to make it harder. Cancer is the disease that takes people slowly, creeps and withers them, not plucks them away in a week. Photos of her from a couple of weeks ago show no hint of sickness. Her eyes bright and mischievous. Her frame looking strong not wasting. It is all so unbelievable.
Some of her friends, who like me have never met her or met her briefly but know her from correspondence and her generousity, have talked about getting together. Inspired by her "don't let life pass you by" attitude. That is a good thing. The idea that you shouldn't wait to meet those who have come into your life through the distance, those whose spirit you only know electronically. Some times the practicality of the life up here gets in the way of all that, just as it keeps us away from family and friends that we do know much more deeply.
I've much to write, and at the same time have nothing to write. So I'll just say this…
Goodbye my friend. Thank you for letting my into your life from afar, and for all the inspiration.
Indigo Sweetwater –"About me: January 2011 : New decade, new year, new month. All those good intentions, I'll make mine for a month: to sing once each day, to finish at least one project this month and to memorize the walrus and the carpenter. big, bad and beautiful as ever , just ask me, I'll tell ya'"
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10 responses
Sorry, Clare… I too lost a dear online friend without warning this year. Strange how it felt like the ground was pulled from under me, even though the relationship had always been sort of “ungrounded”… sort of like it came to ground and ended in the same instant.
Best wishes.
My favorite line:
Her eyes bright and mischievous.
A perfect description of her Clare. Thank you!
The loss of any loved one is intensely painful. I have found that remembering and reminiscing are very healing. From her “about me” I must believe that she has embarked on a new adventure.
*sniffle*
That was beautiful, Clare. I am very sorry for your loss.
While I didn’t know her other than from the comments she left on my blog and through the many stories of her generosity and exceptional kindness, I have been thinking about Indigo’s passing a lot.
I think that maybe the best way to honour someone is to take the qualities we admire most in that person and try our very best to incorporate them into our own lives. It helps us to remember what made that person so important and helps us hold them a little closer to our hearts.
From the little that I knew of Indigo, she’s definitely someone worthy of that.
I can’t believe this happened. She will be sorely missed by everyone she touched. It seems to strange, she was supposed to come to town this week to help us through break up. We’ve lost a wonderful woman.
What wonderful tribute to an amazing woman … I first met Indigo in 1994 when she worked in Bella Coola briefly … I shared with David (her partner) this morning my memory of her walking in my backdoor with the words – “I’m here for Lunch Darling, what are we having?”
She was bold and brass and had a heart of gold … I was and remain shocked at losing such a dear friend so quickly … she will be sorely and deeply missed !!!
It’s so difficult to realize a good friend is no longer in this world. I hope her passing was easy and the next stage of her journey delightful.
You wrote a wonderful tribute to your friend, Clare. We should all be so lucky to have thoughtful, caring people in our lives.
I searched for Indigo’s obituary online, and have instead found a couple of wonderful tributes like this one. The world is truly a better place because Indigo journied here.