Adam was an
extraordinary person, for whom we all had much respect. I'm so
happy that I got to spend 21 years with this remarkable soul.
What a wonderful time it has been. He gave me so much strength
and help, not only in our daily work, but in my spiritual work as
well. He had such a deep understanding of spirituality that I
frequently asked for his advice and comments when life presented
mysteries and puzzles to me. He was only a young man, but he was
wise far beyond his years. He was fun to be with, a great friend
and companion, a loving son, and a super co-worker. I could
always depend upon him, no matter what. What a blessing this
whole lifetime with him has been...
A few days before Adam died, I had a glimpse into the humility of this
unique young man. We were in a large meeting about technical
computer topics, and the room was filled with distinguished guests and
technical experts. At the time, Adam was working as a graphic
designer and computer programmer. A clipboard was passed around for
people to write their name, their function, and their email.
After it went around the room, I took a look at the list of important
and accomplished people. I glanced down at what Adam had written as his
function. I was expecting to see "computer programmer and graphic
designer" or something like that.
But instead, he had written very simply, "Adam Palmer, sevadar."
Adam Palmer, sevadar... What is a sevadar? This is an
Indian word which means one who serves others out of their love and
devotion for God and how has no expectation of reward or
recognition. Adam could have claimed many other titles, could
have written many other things that would have sounded much greater by
worldly standards. But no, he simply wrote, Adam Palmer,
sevadar. That's how he thought of himself, a simple servant of
God.
Adam enjoyed his time with us, and now he is surely enjoying himself
with God even more. He is free of all suffering, hardship, and
ephemeral things. Free to enjoy all the love, bliss, and
permanent greatness of God.
As a child, Adam was fascinated with the idea of flying beyond the sun,
moon, and planets, and into the stars. As a young man, he came to
understand that this journey he desired was a spiritual one, not a
physical one. And now, he has made the Journey: He is flying in
the ocean of Light and Love with God, and he is enjoying, enjoying,
enjoying...
|
I feel blessed that Adam came to be
with me for this time, to be there by my side as I grew up, to teach me
about life and the universe. He was the best teacher I ever had
– he was always so good and kind and understanding. I
thought it was normal for brothers to be so kind and fair to their
sisters. But I found out that, while growing up, many siblings
fight, argue, play tricks on each other, and even cheat and deceive
each other out of jealousy and competition. And I realized how
lucky I was to have such an advanced being as my brother, who always
treated me with love and respect.
He took me exploring the woods, the oceans and streams, spelunking in
caves. He showed me the plants and animals and taught me all
about them. They were his little friends, his brothers and
sisters, and he loved them. He showed me the planets and stars
and taught me all about outer space, and space shuttles, and
astronauts. He showed me his inventions, told me his ideas , far
beyond anything I could dream of. He was so smart! I
remember he showed me his design for a holographic TV and tried to
explain to me the physics of how it would work. He was only about
10 years old at the time. And I thought, how does he know all of
this? They don't teach me this in school!
He understood the bigger concepts of science and nature and how the
universe works, not the petty, superficial things, not the little
facts. I always felt that he was a thousand light years ahead of
me, but always willing to come back, take my hand, and show me the way,
with a huge grin on his face and a spring in his step.
Like the time we went rappelling, and I was afraid. He came
back and took great care to show me how to do it, and reassured me that
it was safe, and not to worry. And I knew it was only my own fear
that was hurting me. He gave me that understanding. He was
so kind, so gentle, so understanding.
There was the time that we went snow skiing for the first time ever,
and he got so good at it so fast. I was having some fears and
some trouble, and so I watched him to see how he was doing it and
then I realized what his secret was. He loved his legs, the skis,
and the snow. He loved the rocks and trees , everything.
And how could these things hurt him? And how could he fear
them? This was the attitude he had toward everything in life , he
loved life, and he loved all things. And so everything cooperated
with him, and so he was able to do so very much.
He loved the river too, and so the river couldn't really hurt
him. He remained in his own pure love, but maybe the river loved
him too much...? I saw his body after they brought it out of the
river, and I knew that he had lived life to the fullest, in the best
way possible. He lived every moment with love, and never with
fear. He loved life and everything in it, completely and without
holding back. Even at the moment of death, he was loving the
experience of passing from this life to the next. He always loved
new experiences, and so I know he loved that moment also. His
face looked like an angel. So sweet and pure, so shining, so
peaceful.
And I suddenly learned the lesson he had never been able to teach me in
life, that we have a spiritual task to complete in this
lifetime. As our spiritual teacher says, Reach the destination
earliest.
|
